rong chiaroscuro. Although Sargent also spent four years studying drawing under Lon Bonnat at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, it was Carolus-Duran’s approach that would form the aesthetic basis of his style. Upon his teacher’s advice, Sargent also traveled to Spain and Holland to study the work of old master painters such as Diego Velzquez and Frans Hals, both of whom also employed skilled, fluid techniques. In 1876, Sargent made his first visit to the United States, claiming his American citizenship and visiting the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. One year later, he spent the summer in Cancale, in France’s Brittany region, where he painted outdoors, applying Carolus-Duran’s strategies to portrayals of fishing folk on sunlit beaches. His reputation in Paris was established in 1878 when his Oyster Gatherers of Cancale (1878; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.) won an Honorable Mention at that year’s Salon. During the early 1880s, Sargent began making painting trips abroad, working in Venice in 1880 and 1882, where he painted street scenes and interiors notable for their brilliant play of light and shadow. He also embarked on what would be a lucrative career as a portraitist, producing such well known works as The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). His early commissions also included an image of Madame Pierre Gautreau. A renowned beauty and member of Parisian society, Madame Gautreau was known for her bold, unorthodox approach towards fashion. In her portrait, entitled "Madame X" (1884; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), Sargent effectively captured her distinctive aura. However, his daring realism, coupled with fact that he portrayed a diamond shoulder strap falling off one of her shoulders, caused such an uproar that his career in France was seriously compromised. As a result of the controversy surrounding ...
