Interpreting Sargent

"John Singer Sargent's portraits probed the relationship between surface appearance and psychological depth. They sought out the tensions between class identity and individual personality. Not only in his portraits, but also in his landscapes, figure subjects, and mural paintings. Sargent's 'magical' style compels us to question our perceptions of surface and substance, illusion and reality." "Sargent's celebrity as the favored painter of the upper classes has compromised his reputation in the twentieth century. His portraits are often accused of glossing over social realities, sacrificing psychological depth to superficial brilliance. In this concise, beautifully illustrated introduction to Sargent's work, spanning France, England, and America, Elizabeth Prettejohn reinterprets his career."--Jacket.