This isn't the tight, polished Sargent that made him famous painting society portraits. Here, working just for himself, he lets the brushwork loosen up completely.
What you're looking at
Sargent painted this forest scene in 1908, showing a solitary hermit figure seated among trees and dappled light, rendered with loose, quick brushwork very different from the tightly controlled elegance of his famous society portraits. The forest setting dominates the composition, with the human figure almost secondary to the surrounding light and foliage.
Painted for pleasure, not a client
By 1908, Sargent had already built his reputation and fortune on formal portrait commissions, but this painting was made for pleasure rather than for a paying patron. Working outside the portrait studio let him experiment more freely, applying paint in a looser, more spontaneous way than the careful, flattering finish his portrait clients expected and paid for.
Paintings like this one give a different view of Sargent's technical range: an artist capable of extraordinary control in a formal portrait, but equally comfortable working loosely and experimentally when he wasn't answering to a client's expectations. The painting is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
One detail to look for
Look at the dappled light falling across the forest floor and figure. Sargent renders it with quick, broken strokes rather than the smooth, blended surfaces typical of his commissioned portraits.
See it at its real size
Our canvas print is labeled against the true size of the original, 96.5 x 95.9 cm. Shop the canvas print.