Dr. Pozzi at Home
12:00 AM |
| John Singer Sargent, Dr. Pozzi at Home, 1881 |
I want some too.
Everybody wants
Baby, how ‘bout you?”
-Van Halen, “Everybody Wants Some”
Dr. Samuel Jean Pozzi, Ph.D. in love, became interested in more things than gynecology in his career. Innovative doctor, socialite, and all around ladies man, the good doctor pleasured his guests with his dazzling good looks and friendly mannerisms. All of the ladies wanted him, and he obliged them. Inspiring such nicknames as the Siren, Doctor of the Stars, Dr. Love, and even Dr. God, Dr. Pozzi ruled the world of Parisian socialites.
Dr.
Pozzi’s suave aura and wealth attracted many women and even a few men. John
Singer Sargent came to one of Dr. Pozzi’s parties trying to find an established
patron, but instead heard the enticing call of the siren. When talking to Dr.
Pozzi about a portrait of Pozzi’s indifferent wife, Sargent suggested that he
paint Dr. Pozzi. The doctor instantly fell head over heels for this idea.
Sargent soon started on what would become Dr.
Pozzi at Home, but found himself drinking Dr. Love’s love potion.
Sargent may have developed a crush on Dr. Pozzi. Pozzi’s hand
unlacing his bathrobe certainly makes the painting scandalous, along with the
scarlet background and robe. Sargent came from an American family, despite
being born and raised in Europe, and often appeared proud of it. In the famous
American novel The Scarlet Letter by
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Puritan courts force an adulterous, Hester Prynne, to
wear an embroidered scarlet A as punishment for her crime so everyone immediately
recognizes her as a sinner. Unsurprisingly, Dr. Pozzi appears all right with being drenched
in scarlet paint. He even seems to revel in it, which seems natural since he
would later found a social club named the Cercles des Amis de la Rose
(basically a place where rich men could live out sexual fantasies). Sargent had also been known to have crushes on his subjects,
like Madame Amélia Gautreau, Albert de Belleroche, and Judith Gautier.
Dr. Pozzi, with his Ph.D. and dashing good looks, enticed the wealthy of Paris while also making ground breaking discoveries in the field of gynecology. Sargent’s portrait cemented Dr. Love into the world of art history. Now, no one can ever forget why everyone in Paris, even Sargent himself, wanted some.
Dr. Pozzi, with his Ph.D. and dashing good looks, enticed the wealthy of Paris while also making ground breaking discoveries in the field of gynecology. Sargent’s portrait cemented Dr. Love into the world of art history. Now, no one can ever forget why everyone in Paris, even Sargent himself, wanted some.
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