While visiting family in Boston for the weekend, I returned to the Museum of Fine Arts. I came upon another of John Singer Sargent’s works, Daughters of Edward Darley Bit. The composition of the painting intrigued me; and so I have chosen to write about the piece. This painting of four girls in an elegant room and doorway of what I presume to be their home, is a very posed, stagnant depiction. Three of the girls appear to be staring blankly at the painter, while one stands facing to the side, staring forward, away from the painter. None of the girls is engaged in the scene.
It does not appear, however to be frozen in time, as no girl is actively acknowledging another, nor actively playing with their toys and dolls, as in the case of the girl sitting on the rug. Two of the girls stands in the darkened doorway, similarly dressed, with one a bit more stiffly posed than the other. In the front, a girl stands at attention behind and to the side of the child sitting on the floor. The curiosity I found with this painting is that for the most part they do not appear comfortable in their surroundings. The one noticeable dissent to that is that one girl in the doorway leans back against a large porcelain vase, probably a very expensive one, and so I would think that a child leaning against such a thing would cause great alarm to a parent for fear that it might be broken accidentally. Representing the child leaning against it leaves me to question whether she is simply very comfortable in her home, or perhaps upset or angry and responded by carelessly leaning against such a lavish piece of art.
Theoretically, Sargent posed the girls himself, however I could not devise a reason for placing the girl facing off to the side the way she is. Another compositional point I wish to make is that the painting feels somewhat unbalanced. Although the lights and dark work very well together with balanced contrast, I find the left side to be too heavy for the right. With the entire bodies of two girls, plus half of another, in addition to the very tall vase does not measure out against the smaller girl sitting on the floor and half of a girl in the back. What’s more is that none of the girls comes close to sitting near the right side, leaving the left side very weighty. In some respects, the rug on the right half and dark shadows toward the rear of the room might level the painting out a bit, but I do not feel comfortable with the balance.
Seeing this painting in person was extremely important in order to form a complete opinion about it. Having seen the work in books and art magazines, I thought of it as a cute piece that might be nice to hang in a small, dark hallway, maybe with dark mustard colored walls where the painting hangs. When I saw the piece in person, I realized just how big it is. At about 7′ x 7′, it is definitely not something to try to fit in a small space.
I found it strange to see a portrait piece done in a perfect square canvas. I have been accustomed to seeing painting generally somewhat greater in width or height, but not often perfectly square. This made my opinion of it being a melancholic piece even stronger. Perhaps it was not supposed to be a sad or curious depiction, but I see it as being clouded by shadow and starkness. I was also wrong about the colors before I saw it in front of me.
The painting has a more reddish cast to it than I had anticipated. The colors were all very muted, but I could see into the blackness, how shades of red and yellow were added for richness. The texture appeared to be very smooth, similar to the painting I reviewed of Paul Revere. The luminousness was superb to see in person as well. The light glowed where highlights were painted, and even the small details in the very back of the darkened room were subtly visible upon closer inspection. These are things that seen in reduced form or on a slide, would not be visible, and instead would be lost to the average viewer.
Most paintings belong to be seen in person and not by magazine or slide. For educational purposes, slides are fine, but when truly interested in a piece, one needs to make every effort to see that piece live, to get to know its intricate details, and see into the perception behind the composition.