John Singer Sargent [1856-1925] is one of my favorite painters because of his wonderful and interesting portraits.
From his watercolors
from his oils.
The first gentleman with that challenging stare is a Bedouin of North Africa. Sargent traveled North Africa and did many portraits of the native men and woman. The Brooklyn Museum had an exhibition of his watercolors and that is where I met him.
The second gentleman was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I found both fascinating but especially 'The Man In The Red Coat'. Let's say he looked familiar.
He is Samuel Pozzi 1846-1918] who according to a new biography by Julian Barnes used his charm and wife's money to become the most prominent MD in Belle Epoque France, the first professor of gynecology in France, heterosexual, lover of Sarah Bernhardt and others. An extraordinary life that did not end well. Pozzi was shot 4 times by Maurice Machu; a patient he had refused to operate on because the condition varicocele of the scrotum had become inoperable.
What a different impression the portrait gives.
P.S. I apologise for the quality of the photos. They were taken from postcards I bought at the time of the exhibition. Tried downloading from the internet but the skill set isn't there yet.
