John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911, oil on canvas, 63.8 x 76.2 cm. National

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911, oil on canvas, 63.8 x 76.2 cm. National Gallery of Art
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The woman in Repose is Sargent’s niece, Rose-Marie Ormond. In keeping with his newfound preference for informal figure studies, Sargent did not create a traditional portrait; rather, he depicted Rose-Marie as a languid, anonymous figure absorbed in poetic reverie. The reclining woman, casually posed in an atmosphere of elegiac calm and consummate luxury, seems the epitome of nonchalance, the painting’s original title. Read more