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MISS ELLEN TERRY AS LADY MACBETH
By JOHN SINGER SARGENT, R.A. (1856-1925)
IN THE TATE GALLERY, LONDON
Mr. Sargent is primarily a portrait painter, a branch of his art which attracted him in his student days and has since gained him renown, not merely for the technical power of his work but for the deep insight into character which is revealed in his canvases, His father was a Boston physician, but he was born in Florence, where, in an atmosphere of artistic culture, he spent his youth. When he went to Paris at the age of twenty, to study in the studio of Carolus Duran, he signalised his arrival by producing an admirable portrait of his teacher. Two years later he proceeded to Spain, where he passed several agreeable months, during which he came under the spell of Velazquez, who has inspired him ever since. Traces of the Spanish painter's influence may generally be found in his portraits, though allied to an individual insight which belongs to Mr. Sargent himself, and makes his work original while it adapts the methods of the Master's style.
This picture, once the property of the late Sir Henry Irving, was presented to the nation by Sir Joseph Duveen in 1906, Miss Terry wears the costume designed for Sir Henry Irving's revival of Macbeth at the Lyceum Theatre - a robe of metallic blue, the long green sleeves decorated with iridescent beetle wings. Her arms are raised above her red-gold hair, while in her hands she holds the crown of Duncan.
The portrait painter has paid full justice to the character portrayed by the actress, and has skilfully subordinated the rich colouring of the design to the expression of the face, which arrests the eye at once and compels the interest of the spectator before he turns his attention to the beauties of the picture as a whole.
From the book "Famous Paintings" Volume 2 printed in 1913.
Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
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Online "Name the Painting"
John Singer Sargent
biography at Olga's Gallery
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John Singer Sargent
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John Singer Sargent
at the National Gallery of Art
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