Mrs Robertson 1880

John Singer Sargent created this oil on canvas portrait of Mrs. Robertson, using traditional fine art materials. The application of paint, its viscosity and texture, gives this work its richness. Notice how Sargent deployed visible brushstrokes to convey the shimmer of her black dress, and the plushness of the chaise lounge. He wasn't afraid to let the materiality of the oil paint do some of the work of description. Consider also the social context in which this painting was produced. Sargent’s bravura handling of paint reflects a certain type of high-society connoisseurship, where technical skill was highly valued. Yet, it’s also a type of work made possible by legions of unseen laborers – those who mined the pigments, wove the canvas, and ultimately created the very conditions of wealth that Sargent memorialized in his portraits. By attending to these material realities, we can begin to understand the complex relationship between art, labor, and class.