Evening star., 1940-07-07

CoSAi Va WkAAt&i 10 1CPkCoCAAVubASC AL10
exciting, is invariably a job; sitters
have to be pleased. within reason,
sometimes cajoled. and are not al
ways inspiring. They cannot al
ways be either pleased or refused.
Repeatedly, Sargent is said to have
declared that he would paint no
more portraits and then be over
persuaded.
But how fortunate he must have
felt in having for a sitter one Of
such charm as the late Mrs. Henry
White, and how admirably in this
canvas the painter brought to play
upon his task his full capacity and
genius. With the aura of aristoc-
racy" which must have truly
emanated from the reserved and
dignified wife of q distinguished
diplomat, is subtlely suggested spir-
itual characteristics, the mind Of
the subject as we'll as the likeness,
the former but thinly yelled by the
latter, a living thing. And how
magically the figure is painted. to-
gether with the texture of the white
gown; how expressive are the hands,
especially the left, half buried in
the folds Of the skirt as 1t falls
lightly by her side. The technique
is brilliant, but it is not Of this one
thinks; rather of the spirit of the
person portrayed. This is very great
portraiture. Sargent's leading biog-
raphers all stress the fact that his
invariable desire was to put at the
service of art his own vigorous and
accomplished technique in order
that he might best express the Wis
ual and spiritual significance of that
which he saw. This being the case,
the plant against technical trickery,
and also that of misinterpretation,
may well be cast aside.
Willing to Take Risk.
In this connection 1t is rather
amusing to recall that, while Sar-
gent was in his prime, there were
those who denounced him for "vio-
lating the secret recesses of vanity,
of bringing in his portraits hidden,
because unlovely, traits of character
to light, in such wise, that the candor
of his brush was to be feared as we'll
as respected" Coventry Patmore
is known to have felt that his por-
trait by Sargent was more caricature
than likeness. But even so, an
amazing number Of persons were, as
well-known critic then remarked,
willing to take the risk. The list Of
portraits painted by Sargent
is amazingly long. Under such
circumstances, all could not
have been equally good. Some
times, according to the painter,
they went we'll from the beginning
and sometimes they did not. Not
infrequently he painted and wiped
out, to paint again. He was never
willing to let a canvas go out Of his
possession until it was as good as
he felt he could make it. The facile
brushwork covered sometimes a
multitude of painful efforts. But
not always. This, however, we
know-that gifted as Sargent was,
he was arduously self-disciplined and
to the very end hoping and striving
to better his best.
The paintings that Sargent did
for his own pleasure were those for
which he found time outside of his
studio and on holiday trips. 1t is one
of these that Mrs. Parmelee has
lent to the Corcoran Gallery - a
landscape entitled "Simplon." 1t is
26 by SO inches in dimensions, in
oils, and was painted about 1910 on
the Simplon Pass. In Evan Char
teris' biography there is a picture OF
Sargent sketching in almost the ex-
act spot shown in this painting; but
in the painting the artist Is looking
up toward the mountains, and in
the photograph his back is turned
to the heights. All the brilliance Of
his technique is displayed in this
canvas, the directness OF his brush
work, the assurance of each stroke
and, what is more, there is here
transcribed intense brilliancy Of
light, clearness of air and the almost
overpowering solidity of the rock
formation. The mountains rise to
the right and are boldly outlined
against a clear, blue sky, crossed by
white clouds like detached snow
peaks; in the foreground, to the left,
comes dashing down a clear, spark
ling small stream. Here is life, and
strength, and aspiration, expressed
with unity and great impressiveness.
The painter is forgotten in his
achievement, which is precisely what
he intended.
Vacation Souvenirs.
The Freer Gallery has two paint
ings in oil by Sargent which may
we'll be recalled in this connection
one of the interior OF a workshop,
presumably in italy, dark within but