Fumée d'Ambre Gris

Fumme d'Ambre Gris
John Singer Sargent, Fumée d'Ambre Gris, 1880
By TROY WORKMAN

The year before this painting's completion, John Singer Sargent took a trip to Tangier in North Africa. Orientalism in Europe at the time was a popular subject among artists and decorators alike. This was one of two paintings Sargent submitted to the Paris Salon of 1880. Sargent's depiction of Orientalism, shows a woman covered in an elaborate gown, bathing in the smoke of smoldering ambergris, a waxy substance that whales produce which is used in many perfumes. In Northern Africa where this woman lived, ambergris would be considered an aphrodisiac and a repellent to evil spirits. Her society would've forced her to be an extremely private woman, but since she models for Sargent, her social status moves to the outer ranks where this would be more acceptable. Sargent merges influences from many parts of the East, so it can be inferred that this particular image was created mostly in his mind.

The color attracted the most praise in this painting for obvious reasons. Sargent looks beyond the boundaries of just "white", and into individual shades that mesh and contrast perfectly with the subject matter. From the cold white walls of the room, to the white airy fabric draped around her body, each object receives a different level of attention to the individual hues of white. To me, this is the epitome of Sargent's work, and demonstrates his complete mastery of not only framing the subject matter, but paying extreme attention to the shades and hues in every object.

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Fumée d'Abre Gris

1880
John Singer Sargent, Fumée d'Ambre Gris, 1880
The ability to shape columns and drape fabric from one color - white - intrigued and delighted Salon critics. Heralded early on for his dynamism and already breathtakingly diverse range, John Singer Sargent used Fumée d'Ambre Gris as a key card into higher social circles. When describing this painting in her book Strapless, Deborah Davis calls to the reader's attention an interesting bit of trivia about the origins of the smoke curling up in tendrils around the "magnificently dressed Arab woman['s]" face. Davis contends that the substance, "ambre gris," is "derived from whale sperm [and] is said to act as an aphrodisiac when inhaled or ingested." This fun fact brings an element of grittiness and privacy as well as exotic elegance to the painting. 

However, a brief inquest into the history of ambre gris tells a different story. The leading ingredient in many perfumes during Sargent's time, ambre gris originates not from the sperm of a whale, but from sperm wales, as explored in detail in Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Melville comments on the hypocrisy of the whole business by posing the question "Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale!" While whaling was considered a putrid trade, the musk scent of whale vomit ironically pleased the women of society.

But Fumée d'Ambre Gris doesn't try to subvert the image of the whaling trade or promote the sales of perfumes. Sargent had a knack for capturing fleeting moments in time and space with perfection. Making critics sit up and take notice, Fumée d'Ambre Gris teased Sargent's audience with a taste of what was yet to come. 
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