There are also important aspects of Sargent’s career that ultimately explain why Sargent painted in such a manner. He painted the first Venetian series (also called the Venetian studies) prior to his fame as a portrait painter in the late 1880s. In the time period between the two series (1880-1900), Sargent worked busily painting portraits in both Europe and America. Interestingly though, when he painted his Venetian watercolors in the early 1900s, the time was soon approaching when Sargent would completely give up painting portraits. Julian Halsby noted that “to John Singer Sargent Venice was a spiritual home, a place to escape from the pressures of paintings portraits or, as he called them, ‘mug shots’” (Halsby 113). Halsby suggests that Sargent turned to Venice as a safe haven, as he began to turn away from portraits. Yet ironically, Sargent just changed the portrait subject matter to buildings. He was so talented at capturing the spirit of his human subjects, such that Isham points out, “No one, not even the great masters of the past, has read ordinary, everyday character as minutely and completely as Sargent” and “some of the deductions drawn from his portraits by utter strangers are amazing in accuracy” (Isham 434). In Venice, it was Sargent’s turn to do the same for Venetian architecture: to capture the aura of each building, and in turn, capture the timeless Venice Sargent so loved. No tourist would be able to grasp the subtleties of each building like Sargent could with his insider perspective, and that is why he portrayed them from such the gondola perspective. Yet without the experience of painting portraits, Sargent could only attempt to capture the details of architecture as people crowded the paintings in his first series.
Sargent, John Singer. Self Portrait. 1906. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
