Mrs. Edward Burckhardt and Her Daughter Louise and Lady with the Rose
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| John Singer Sargent, Mrs. Edward Burckhardt and Her Daughter Louise, 1885 |
Sargent painted many portraits during his career. Most portraits took weeks to plan, sketch, and manage each minute detail, while others were painted rather on a whim, capturing not only the physical traits of the subject, but the essence of the character. In 1885, Sargent received a portrait commission from an old acquaintance, Mrs. Edward Burckhardt. This commission began in a normal manner as Sargent posed and analyzed his subject, but when she invited her daughter, and previous “love interest” of Sargent, Louise Burckhardt, into the painting, the dynamic of the portrait quickly shifted. What began as a demure painting of a caring and graceful mother turned into a portrait that would be compared with a previous work by Sargent and one that I think raises the question of Sargent’s expression of love.
Sargent had painted Louise previously, but under quite different circumstances. When the two first met in 1881, Mrs. Edward Burckhardt had a plan hidden up her sleeve. Mrs. Edward Burckhardt wanted the best for her daughter, and a marriage to an up and coming artist seemed to be the perfect opportunity for Louise’s rise to fame and success.
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| John Singer Sargent, Lady with the Rose (Charlotte Louise Burckhardt), 1882 |
However, in Mrs. Edward Burckhardt and Her daughter Louise, Louise takes on a drastically different persona. The plain black dress is replaced by a striking red gown, one that has significantly less fabric, and rather than stare at the viewer in a passive manner, Louise’s gaze now pierces through the canvas and emanates confidence. She strays from the subject of her mother’s gaze, establishing herself as an independent young woman, no longer the innocent child holding the rose.
Upon painting Mrs. Burckhardt and Her daughter Louise, Mrs. Edward Burckhardt once again tried to foster a relationship between Sargent and Louise, but, in the same manner as before, Sargent retreated. However, if Sargent’s feelings for Louise hadn’t changed from his first portrait of her, why did he waver from the previous depiction of her as a demure, un-sexualized girl? Was it just that she had come of age and become a more confident woman, or did Sargent have feelings for her and could only show it through a painting?
I argue for the latter. Many of Sargent’s portraits led to or originated from an infatuation with the subject. Such characters include Louise, Lilly Millet, Judith Gautier, Amelie Gautreau, and quite possibly, even Dr. Pozzi, Sargent never settled down with a family, but rather bounced from place to place making constant acquaintances, and painting an abundance of portraits, of both his close friends and his paid commissions. Sargent didn’t have the opportunity to share his love through words, as he traveled from one place to another as his art traveled through the whirlwind of critics and society, so I believe he resorted to illustrating his admiration through paintings. He contained his love for both men and women in his portraits, developing an artistic style that is not only technically gorgeous, but rich with feelings untold and infatuations that either faded or grew with time.
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