“It” Women and John Singer Sargent’s Self-Fashioning

Sargent painted some eye-catching portraits of men, but his provocative visions of women stole the show, asserting his bold Parisian style. Beyond his iconic Madame X, Sargent’s depictions of socialites, divas, scholars, and adventurers tapped into momentous changes in women’s lives unfolding during the Belle Époque. Learn about how both Sargent’s public success and his private freedom drew on his complex and remarkable portrayals of women. In envisioning his friends, confidantes, and patrons as self-confident and free-spirited women, Sargent hit on a paradoxical solution for his own sexual complications and an exhilarating inspiration for his own self-fashioning. Paul Fisher, professor and chair of American Studies, Wellesley College Wednesday, November 8, 2023