John Singer Sargent

Los Gatos Porch, California

Private Collection, Los Altos, California (acquired from the above circa 1975)

Thence by descent to the present owner

Paris, Rue Vivienne, Cercle des arts libéraux, 1882

Jules Claretie, "La Vie à Paris," Le Temps, 17 March 1882, p. 3

"Nouvelles parisiennes," L'Art Moderne, 19 March 1882, pp. 93-94

Jules Claretie, "La Vie à Paris," Le Temps, 19 May 1882, p. 3

Exh. Cat., Williamstown, Massachusetts, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Uncanny Spectacle: The Public Career of the Young John Singer Sargent, 1997, p. 176, no. A26

Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent: The Early Portraits, New Haven and London, 1998, no. 93, p. 96, illustrated; p. 246

Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray, John Singer Sargent, London and Princeton, 1998, p. 12

Exh. Cat., London, National Portrait Gallery (and traveling), Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends, 2015, pp. 13-14

Describing the work of John Singer Sargent, French newspaper, Le Temps wrote, "[Sargent's] work is original and daring, and there is taste in the boldness. The sketch of Charles Edmond, painted with great spontaneity and exhibited recently on the rue Vivienne, is quite simply a masterpiece" (Le Temps, 19 May 1882, p. 3).

One of the premier portraitists of his generation, John Singer Sargent was celebrated for his masterful way of capturing the elegance and poise of the Edwardian era. Born in Florence to American parents, Sargent trained in Paris before establishing his reputation in London, where his refined technique and incisive character studies attracted the patronage of high society. His virtuosic brushwork and sophisticated use of chiaroscuro distinguished him as a leading figure in modern portraiture.

The present portrait depicts Polish journalist, playwright, novelist, poet, and translator Edmund Chojecki (1822–1899), known by the pen name Charles Edmond. Early in his life, Chojecki participated in radical intellectual and political movements before seeking refuge in Paris in 1845. There, he achieved literary prominence and entered elite social circles, notably serving as secretary and translator to Emperor Napoleon III.

The present work was first exhibited at the Cercle des arts libéraux in Paris in 1882. Le Temps, the newspaper Edmond himself had founded, noted, “it is a marvelous inspiration that this vigorous male portrait, wild and rebellious, resembles Sully” (Le Temps, 17 March 1882, p. 3). The work exemplifies Sargent’s ability to fuse psychological acuity with painterly bravura, capturing both likeness and presence with remarkable immediacy.