I enjoyed this lecture so much and I want to congratulate Erica E. Hershler on the news that she discovered while reading the extensive 14 volumes of Robert Boit and in volume 14 letters from John Singer Sargent which no other scholar had seen. I recently found in one of my favorite old book stores -Sargent Watercolors by Donelson Hoopes, I was so excited that I got our my large book John Singer Sargent by Ratcliff and John Singer Sargent by Kate E. Jennings and started reading them all. I discover new paintings that are not covered by my 3 books and new information in this lecture and other lectures from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston - thank you!
The first time I saw a Sargent watercolor I just about fell out of my chair. How he could combine such punchy colors and sketch so deftly in such a fluid and unforgiving medium is beyond me. I enjoy his oil paintings, but you can tell that with his watercolors he was painting what he enjoyed.
I am indebted to MFA for educating me on Sargent's masterly watercolors, which I never knew existed until watching this video. This is a second lecture that I listened to by Erica Hirshler. Her lecture on Cassatt was equally commanding & delightful. I look forward to studying more lectures from Hirshler/MFA.
A truly wonderful lecture, as an award winning artist in hiding, I understand Sargent's privacy & will to hold onto some creativity for himself i.e. his water colours. I can identify how he must have felt thinking, the money is great, but no more commissions for the wealthy. Creative expression, discovery, expression & journey of it, is paramount to any true artist its our life blood. Markets style & media (PR) changes, what is considered great today may change tomorrow as you showed in how Sargent's work & reputation dived due to fry & modernism et al. Credit to the speaker and all who worked on this production/research/and exhibition.
The Whalens, I don't need to dream It, I lived it for 25 years around the world with projects as big as the Olympics and multiple America s cups. It's my choice to stop and live anonymously.
Sargent was as quick in capturing anything as the best newspaper illustrators Figures prone or supine in nature can be absolutely fascinating especially in his hands. I have found that he concentrates on the absolute moment in his work. Other perfectly great artists create a journey through their work. More a narrative. Every bit that he includes seems to be designed to capture and focus on the instant creating incredibly powerful moments. It seems that top figurative artists like he or Norman Rockwell were casually sacrificed to an opaque public by self important parasites trying to make a success of themselves. Great art is great art whether Sargent or Franz Kline. I greatly appreciated your presentation. Thank you
An very enjoyable lecture, and informative too. However, I understand and agree with why Sargent didn't want to show his watercolors. They are not for public consumption, in the sense that this is the medium that he used to explore his own soul, where are you, anybody home, yes, his way of soul searching. Years, decades of commissioned portraits though have brought him wealth and fortune seemed to have deadended Sargent inwardly. In his watercolors I see a man yearning to break free, but he seemed lost. His techniques turned out to be his own manacles.
I have noticed now that all the videos from Museum of Fine Arts, Boston channel won't play for me! I'm so confused :( Ive tried reloading, restarting, etc
I think his subject was only always one : the light. Painting of his niece, Painting of the boats,... painting of gondoliers,.... etc. etc. I thing are misleading references .... it is Light on his niece, light on the boats, light on gondoliers, light on the marble stones ..... such an amazing artist!!
As much as I love JSS, and I Do, I am always on the fence with Watercolors, even when they are executed masterfully. I like maybe 1 in 10 of his I see. They just don't have the richness oils have. Great vid though, thanks.
A fascinating talk about one of my favourite subjects.A couple of observations though;the sound level is rather low and makes for hard work to follow without earphones. The video would be immensely improved with some editing; namely cutting to full frame or closeups of the illustrative work being talked about.Hope this is helpful.
Agreed. I appreciate the video and enjoyed it all the same but I dont know why we had to see her talking on half of the screen and little thumbnails of what she is talking about. I would have much rather seen full frames of the artwork and in between maybe shots of the speaker briefly before going right back to up close full frames of the art so I can better appreciate the subject and get a more intimate experience and not feel like I'm in a lecture hall. Either way it's still appreciated!
A very creditable presentation just wish you did not use the term “borrow” at the beginning. Sargent developed his style(s) especially being effected by Velasquez through Duran and frequently showing a very contemporary impressionist like painterly style. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Sargent’s favorite watercolors at the Brooklyn Museum combined with those in the Boston collection as well several times.
Tony Stencel yeah unfortunately that tends to be a problem with a lot of art historian/ critics, they clearly love art by the commitment to learning how to speak to the public about a subject which tends to elude being put into words but many fall short on how the engage their audience in that they end speaking in monotone without any inflection in their voice escaping any chance to show the public how much they love the art world. It really is unfortunate since most people tend to respond to the overall tone of a speaker rather than the specific points made in the talk especially in these informal talks with the public, most of these educators and teachers would get so much more out of their audience if they would share their own enthusiasm for the subject while speaking. It makes it much easier for the general public to learn how to start to appreciate something which they might not fully understand yet but due to the enthusiasm which should come thru any public talk shows the listener how they can feel about the work and subsequently the subject as a whole. This is why I feel the art world really lacks self awareness on how to speak with the general public. Many people within the art world end up developing toxic attitudes towards the uninitiated which is truly sad as art is something which should help bring us together as people and not be used as tool of oppression and class segregation.i speak from personal experiences within the art world as I myself am an artist and find the current state of affairs within the main art market aka the large galleries/ art institutions i.e. Museums and schools are in a real disarray especially with the rise of "outsider" art and the fact artists no longer need galleries to promote themselves and their work due to the many social media platforms which exist today along with the internet as a whole something which could not have been done just 20 years ago. Cheers
Amazing and very polished presentation. THANK YOU, Ms. Hirshler!
A perfect presentation. No filler words. Great media presence. So well spoken and articulate. A masterclass in communicating art.
I enjoyed this lecture so much and I want to congratulate Erica E. Hershler on the news that she discovered while reading the extensive 14 volumes of Robert Boit and in volume 14 letters from John Singer Sargent which no other scholar had seen. I recently found in one of my favorite old book stores -Sargent Watercolors by Donelson Hoopes, I was so excited that I got our my large book John Singer Sargent by Ratcliff and John Singer Sargent by Kate E. Jennings and started reading them all. I discover new paintings that are not covered by my 3 books and new information in this lecture and other lectures from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston - thank you!
This speaker and presentation was excellent. Thank you so much
This is just wonderful. Thank you so much for making this available.
The first time I saw a Sargent watercolor I just about fell out of my chair. How he could combine such punchy colors and sketch so deftly in such a fluid and unforgiving medium is beyond me. I enjoy his oil paintings, but you can tell that with his watercolors he was painting what he enjoyed.
I am indebted to MFA for educating me on Sargent's masterly watercolors, which I never knew existed until watching this video. This is a second lecture that I listened to by Erica Hirshler. Her lecture on Cassatt was equally commanding & delightful. I look forward to studying more lectures from Hirshler/MFA.
Excellent presentation. Thank you for this
A truly wonderful lecture, as an award winning artist in hiding, I understand Sargent's privacy & will to hold onto some creativity for himself i.e. his water colours. I can identify how he must have felt thinking, the money is great, but no more commissions for the wealthy. Creative expression, discovery, expression & journey of it, is paramount to any true artist its our life blood. Markets style & media (PR) changes, what is considered great today may change tomorrow as you showed in how Sargent's work & reputation dived due to fry & modernism et al. Credit to the speaker and all who worked on this production/research/and exhibition.
The Whalens, I don't need to dream It, I lived it for 25 years around the world with projects as big as the Olympics and multiple America s cups. It's my choice to stop and live anonymously.
A really wonderful speaker and presentation.
La Belleza realista de Sargent tanto en la acuarela como en el dibujo como en el óleo es Maravillosa
Sargent was as quick in capturing anything as the best newspaper illustrators Figures prone or supine in nature can be absolutely fascinating especially in his hands. I have found that he concentrates on the absolute moment in his work. Other perfectly great artists create a journey through their work. More a narrative. Every bit that he includes seems to be designed to capture and focus on the instant creating incredibly powerful moments. It seems that top figurative artists like he or Norman Rockwell were casually sacrificed to an opaque public by self important parasites trying to make a success of themselves. Great art is great art whether Sargent or Franz Kline. I greatly appreciated your presentation. Thank you
how can this great presentation video got 136 likes so far. me so glad found this, thanks for sharing. love it!
Wonderful essay. Thank you.
Very good show.
Thank you for this
I love the pile of rocks at 1:05:41. Masterful.
Hand it to an institution to suck the life out of the experience of viewing the amazing talent of Sargent.
Loved this.
An very enjoyable lecture, and informative too. However, I understand and agree with why Sargent didn't want to show his watercolors. They are not for public consumption, in the sense that this is the medium that he used to explore his own soul, where are you, anybody home, yes, his way of soul searching. Years, decades of commissioned portraits though have brought him wealth and fortune seemed to have deadended Sargent inwardly. In his watercolors I see a man yearning to break free, but he seemed lost. His techniques turned out to be his own manacles.
I have noticed now that all the videos from Museum of Fine Arts, Boston channel won't play for me! I'm so confused :( Ive tried reloading, restarting, etc
Oh snaps have you tried again lately?
I didn't think it was possible to make Sargent boring, thanks for proving me wrong.
I think his subject was only always one : the light. Painting of his niece, Painting of the boats,... painting of gondoliers,.... etc. etc. I thing are misleading references .... it is Light on his niece, light on the boats, light on gondoliers, light on the marble stones ..... such an amazing artist!!
well ... she said it later on in the video! ;)
As much as I love JSS, and I Do, I am always on the fence with Watercolors, even when they are executed masterfully. I like maybe 1 in 10 of his I see. They just don't have the richness oils have. Great vid though, thanks.
Thank You
I have a question?
A fascinating talk about one of my favourite subjects.A couple of observations though;the sound level is rather low and makes for hard work to follow without earphones. The video would be immensely improved with some editing; namely cutting to full frame or closeups of the illustrative work being talked about.Hope this is helpful.
Agreed. I appreciate the video and enjoyed it all the same but I dont know why we had to see her talking on half of the screen and little thumbnails of what she is talking about. I would have much rather seen full frames of the artwork and in between maybe shots of the speaker briefly before going right back to up close full frames of the art so I can better appreciate the subject and get a more intimate experience and not feel like I'm in a lecture hall. Either way it's still appreciated!
A very creditable presentation just wish you did not use the term “borrow” at the beginning. Sargent developed his style(s) especially being effected by Velasquez through Duran and frequently showing a very contemporary impressionist like painterly style. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Sargent’s favorite watercolors at the Brooklyn Museum combined with those in the Boston collection as well several times.
Great talk , well done
This video is more about his life than his paintings.
you need to understand his life to understand his ethics & style of painting
12 minutes in and she’s still talking about his portraits, and without any inflection in her voice!
Tony Stencel yeah unfortunately that tends to be a problem with a lot of art historian/ critics, they clearly love art by the commitment to learning how to speak to the public about a subject which tends to elude being put into words but many fall short on how the engage their audience in that they end speaking in monotone without any inflection in their voice escaping any chance to show the public how much they love the art world. It really is unfortunate since most people tend to respond to the overall tone of a speaker rather than the specific points made in the talk especially in these informal talks with the public, most of these educators and teachers would get so much more out of their audience if they would share their own enthusiasm for the subject while speaking. It makes it much easier for the general public to learn how to start to appreciate something which they might not fully understand yet but due to the enthusiasm which should come thru any public talk shows the listener how they can feel about the work and subsequently the subject as a whole. This is why I feel the art world really lacks self awareness on how to speak with the general public. Many people within the art world end up developing toxic attitudes towards the uninitiated which is truly sad as art is something which should help bring us together as people and not be used as tool of oppression and class segregation.i speak from personal experiences within the art world as I myself am an artist and find the current state of affairs within the main art market aka the large galleries/ art institutions i.e. Museums and schools are in a real disarray especially with the rise of "outsider" art and the fact artists no longer need galleries to promote themselves and their work due to the many social media platforms which exist today along with the internet as a whole something which could not have been done just 20 years ago. Cheers
“Swagger watercolors”-the reclining gondolier on the right seems, to an American observer, to be wearing John Wayne’s Stetson cowboy hat!
Too much flavour words. Show the works lady
Yah show bobs and vagene baby
Come to al Islam n success
Come to al Islam n success
Come to al Islam n success
Come to al Islam n success