Lane.Draws

Sargent at the Met /// Technique and Wit

Added 2025-05-20 17:35:21 +0000 UTC

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to see John Singer Sargent’s current exhibit at the Met Museum in NYC with my wife, Kacey, while we were visiting her family in New Jersey.

This show focused on his early works, but I'll also share a few others from later in his career.

I’ve studied Sargent in great depth over the past decade, mostly through books and online images. But once or twice a year, I stumble upon his work in a museum. It’s always a real treat to see it in person—it feels so much more relatable when you can clearly see the marks as he intended. Sargent worked large, often depicting his subjects at life size. So when you view his art in print or online, the rendering appears much tighter due to the vastly compressed scale. I’m always surprised—and quite relieved—to see just how "loose" and free much of his brushwork actually is.

I tend to describe such brushwork as loose, but that is not to say that it is placed haphazardly. Rather, it’s applied in a way that feels direct and spontaneous. Nothing is overly belabored.

I love it too, because it reminds me not to quibble so much over each individual mark in my own work. What truly matters is the clever orchestration of all the elements to express the subject. Lines and brushstrokes shouldn’t be the focus in and of themselves. When marks are placed with purpose and in the proper context—serving the whole—they naturally appear beautiful.

Sargent was especially good at this. When you compare his work to that of his peers, past and present, few manage to strike such a satisfying balance between a sensitive study of the subject and a dramatic stylistic flair. Many artists lean one way or the other: either working with much tighter rendering—obsessing over every last detail and, in the process, stifling liveliness and introducing stiffness—or approaching the work so loosely that fidelity is lost. (Neither direction is wrong, if it's desired. But it must be done consciously and with purpose, not arbitrarily.)

Sargent’s work possesses a special eloquence and vivacity. Many artists have tried to replicate his techniques—with varying degrees of success—but few manage to channel the spirit behind the art. I would argue that this spirit, this mindset, is far more critical to success.

There are countless examples of works that, while maybe lacking technical exactitude, carry great feeling—the kind that stirs and excites the viewer. While masterful draftsmanship is certainly a key pillar of art like Sargent’s, it means little without a touch of inspired wit to guide it.

So, when I study Sargent’s work, I do come away with inspiration to further refine my technique. But more so than that, I feel a desire to sharpen my own creative vision—to give that technique direction and purpose.

The Sargent show is up until August 3, 2025. It was super crowded during our visit. It makes it a bit more difficult to fully appreciate the art while being jostled around. Still, it was encouraging to see such enthusiasm and continued appreciation for this kind of work—proof that the desire for great art is very much alive!