Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

Egon Schiele (1890-1918) made no attempt to hide his desire to befriend Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). His admiration for Klimt, the star of the Viennese art circle, grew from his domination of the avant garde art scene in the early 20^th century. In 1907 he became determined to meet Klimt. He had heard that Klimt had his own admiration for those who sought to be successful.

The Culture Shock that was Art Nouveau

To understand Art Nouveau you first have to understand the ground it grew out of. The cultural and political shock of the French Revolution had left deep wounds throughout Europe and caused artists to resort to traditional art styles. In these traditions there was a familiarity, recognisability and in some sense a safety. With the advent of Gothic Revival, in England, and Neoclassical, Neo Renaissance and Neo Baroque styles emerging across Europe there was a clear demand for visual art that harkened back to past eras.

John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) is hailed as one of the greatest portrait painters of his era. He is famed for his portraiture of aristocratic subjects and these have been compared with the work of painters like Velázquez (1599–1660) and Van Dyck (1599–1641) for their theatrical quality. Portraits are probably what he is most known for, but Sargent painted many subjects with many mediums. In this week’s blog we will be exploring some of these other avenues and looking at the many sides of John Singer Sargent.

 Image Courtesy of Boston Library