Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, John Singer Sargent, 1885-1886

John Singer Sergeant, an Italian-born painter, considered himself an American artist. The day before the Paris Salon of 1884 began he sat in a café imagining how his fame would skyrocket after the showing of his most famous work Madame X. Unfortunately for Sargent his portrait was not well-received and his obsolesce began. In the underwhelming wake of Madame X Sargent left for London, where he spent the summer rebuilding his image and career.

During his sabbatical in England, Sargent spent a considerable amount of time painting children playing in the summer. The outcome, of the months of contemplative and emotional time he spent observing the children, was his redeeming work Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. Sargent, who had established himself as a portrait painter in France and other parts of Europe began a departure form the norm in Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. In the present day Sargent’s style varies widely with a display of incomparable talent in each work. However, in 1887 when he showed the work at the Royal Academy in London, it was the beginning a massive display of technical range that we now associate with John Singer Sargent.

The painting radiates innocence. The two girls light lanterns in the early evening of a summer day in the English countryside. The flowers and their white dresses speak to a softer more vulnerable side of Sargent. While the Madame X painting rose to fame through its sexual undertones and dark colors, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose took a different path. Sargent was in a state of confusion. He expected to be making thousands for his portrait servies, but instead found himself in social and cultural exile hiding from the disgust and shock that followed the 1884 Salon.

From Sargent's shame and vulnerability came one of his most beautiful works. The flowers, the colors, and the aura the painting displays creates an experience rather than just a painting. Furthermore, Sargent’s emotional state while creating this masterpiece facilitated a more emotional and open painting. It is rare to see an artist with his guard down.