Two Girls with Parasols

Isabel Thomas
John Singer Sargent, Two Girls with Parasols, 1888
By ISABEL THOMAS

In Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X, Deborah Davis describes Sargent’s tendency to view the women in his paintings—like Madame Gautreau of Madame X—not as people, but as subjects to be painted. The artist depicts Gautreau as a porcelain doll on display in the famous painting, but she at least has a face, unlike the women in Two Girls with Parasols. Sargent strips them of their names, faces, and identities and leaves them as scenery—details of the landscape. Even though they have to endure the constraint and objectification of womanhood in this society, Sargent gives them the title of girls, not women.

Like Madame X, Two Girls with Parasols possesses a gilded beauty. Beneath the initial reaction to Sargent’s undeniable talent is a sadness in the artist and the subjects of his works. The shallow lifestyle led by the women in Two Girls with Parasols—which brought misery to countless others—was the prototype for the characters of Clarissa Dalloway and Lily Bart in Mrs. Dalloway and House of Mirth, respectively. After reading Mrs. Dalloway and House of Mirth and examining the leisure class around Sargent’s time, I could not help but make a connection to this painting. The clothing of these “lucky” members of the upper class was designed to hold them back. Corsets restricted the body and reduced practical abilities by preventing physical activity. Parasols literally shielded these women from the world around them and existed as an indication that they never went outside—that they were trapped indoors by the demands of high society functions.

The subjects of Two Girls with Parasols are surrounded by nature but live in a completely unnatural social system. This painting differs from Sargent’s characteristic style—like that of Madame X—with colors reminiscent of the Impressionists and brushstrokes as abstract as constructed gender roles. The painting’s scenery flows around the path as these “girls” look to what lies in their future. The faceless women follow this course along with Clarissa Dalloway, Lily Bart, and countless others.

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Two Girls With Parasols

1889
John Singer Sargent, Two Girls with Parasols, 1889. 

In John Singer Sargent's career he painted over 900 oil paintings and 2,000 watercolors, which doesn't even include the endless sketches and charcoal drawings. After the scandal of Madame X, Sargent's portrait career ended in Paris but eventually grew in Britain and America. Sargent painted Two Girls with Parasols five years after his strapless gal got him in hot water. The tree and the woman in the center create a barrier from the lush green on the right and the rough browns on the left. The contrast of the colors is not harsh, instead it flows.

Sargent's brushstrokes smoothly sweep across the canvas, which allows the colors to not only stand on their own, but look like they belong. These strokes allow the painting to move, not just because the women are facing left. The brushstrokes start in the top right and slide down to the bottom left, aiding the woman in pushing the viewer's eye. 

The most interesting feature of this painting is the faceless women. Is he allowing the identity to be anyone, or is he hiding the true identity from the scandal of Madame X? Is Sargent's reputation still harmed five years later, that he wouldn't paint the faces of his models? The unrevealing dresses, shade from the tree, and shade from the parasol seems to put the women in the dark; they even seem constrained. Even though there is space for the action to move, the shadows and the clothing make the women timid. Their gaze does not meet the viewer (the lack of eyes help), and it seems to be a passing moment of hiding.

  • 7:00 AM