artist-sargent:Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre), John Singer Sargent, 1882, Art Institute of Ch

artist-sargent:

Madame Paul Escudier (Louise Lefevre), John Singer Sargent, 1882,Art Institute of Chicago: American Art

In this depiction of Frenchwoman Louise Escudier, John Singer Sargent undercut traditional portrait conventions by prioritizing the dramatic effects of light and dark in a Parisian apartment. The picture grew out of a series of atmospheric views of working-class women in darkened interiors that the artist produced on two trips to Venice between 1880 and 1882. It combines the Impressionists’ gestural brushwork with a heightened chiaroscuro (light and shade) drawn from Spanish Old Masters such as Diego Velázquez. These compositions helped to establish Sargent’s reputation in Paris as a daring and original painter. Bequest of Brooks McCormick
Size: 129.5 × 91.4 cm (51 × 36 in.)
Medium: Oil on canvas

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/191183/