Customer Reviews

John Singer Sargent: The Male Nudes

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It's hard to believe there was a time when the images in this book would have been considered pornographic. But if Singer's portrait of Madame Pierre Gautreau ("Madame X") was considered scandalous because he painted her with a dropped shoulder strap (later repainted in its proper position), then you can understand why these male nudes (mostly charcoal sketches and quick watercolors, but also some finished oil paintings) were kept unexhibited for so long. We have Sargent's sisters to thank that they were not destroyed outright, but carefully placed with museums for safekeeping.

If text is the clothing of art books, then Donna Hassler has provided THE MALE NUDES with less than a loin cloth. But there's not much that needs to be said, anyway. The plates should be enjoyed in their own right. I especially enjoyed the charcoal drawings. They are contextless and their strong outlines give them extra punch and a sense of iconic completeness. Though well rounded and subtly shaded, they remind me somehow of Jean Cocteau's spirited line drawings. The watercolors reminded me of Winslow Homer's. All in all, a nice little book.

For anyone who is a figurative painter, this book is a must have. John Singer Sargent is the Father of watercolor but we rarely see his nudes in books or in museum exhibitions. The color plates are breathtaking and serve as an inspiration to all professional artists. This is a small book but in my opinion well worth the money.

This is a beautiful book that I truly enjoyed. Not being a critic, but just a lover of fine art, I found this long hidden selection of John Singer Sargent's male nudes fascinating, and beautiful produced. There are drawings in black & white and many in color in this fine selection. This book was published on the occasion of Sargent's major retrospect that traveled to several major galleries in 1999.

Sargent began some of these drawings in his adolescence, and continued drawing male nudes throughout his career. However, they were never exhibited or seen by many other people until now. Some of the models became enduring friends with the artist, and remained by his side during his entire lifetime. There is a wonderful introduction that is very helpful in understanding this very talented and creative artist. I highly recommend this book to anyone that knows and enjoys Sargent's artistic work. For those of you who don't, this is a great introduction!

John Singer Sargent is admired as one of this country's premiere portrait artists and museums clamor for any new Sargent that comes on the auction block. His stately Edwardian ladies and gentlemen are elegance personified. Yet as we slowly discover the private lives and portfolios of some of our nation's brightest lights in painting, we uncover other aspects of their gifts. Sargent's Male Nudes are here displayed in all their brilliance of line and tenderness of demeanor that only emphasizes Sargent's fondness for the male figure. Though the author (John Esten) does not dwell on the evidence of these homoerotic drawings and paintings, he gently offers the works themselves in the same context with the works of Thomas Eakins and the literature of Henry James and allows us to piece together the private, closeted lives they all shared. This is a brief but elegant and tender collection of works that deserve a much wider audience.

As someone that admired Sargent's beautiful figure and portrait drawings before he was recently "rediscovered", and someone that admires, as well, 19th century male figure drawings, I was very happy to see this little gem. I liked the fact that watercolor, charcoal and oil paintings were included. I would have prevered a large size volume but this book is a good value. I think art students on a budget will appreciate the economy of this book. I hope Universe puts out a series on the figure drawings of some of the great artists such as Eakins and Degas.

A disappointing selection of works, most of which are available already in several books on Sargent. And why they did not include the beautiful watercolor which is illustrated in Trevor Fairbrother's article "A Private Album" I cannot understand, as I have never seen it reproduced anywhere but in "Arts Magazine" from 1981. I have a feeling that there is another book out there if anyone cares to make a REAL effort and put it together.