John Singer Sargent: The Male Nudes | 
 enlarge | Author: John Esten
Creator: Donna Hassler
Publisher: Universe Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $25.00
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Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 276735
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 80
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 0789302616
Dewey Decimal Number: 759.13
EAN: 9780789302618
ASIN: 0789302616
Publication Date: April 15, 1999
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
The beauty and gentle eroticism of John Singer Sargent's paintings and drawings of nude males are the raison d'etre of this otherwise somewhat slight book. Most are exquisitely languid, with such tender touches as a pink tinge on the buttocks of a boy lying prone on a beach in Capri, or two intimate "tommies"--privates in the World War I British Army--napping on a riverbank after a swim, heads together. Then there are a few nude wrestling matches, a la Eadweard Muybridge and D.H. Lawrence. And, as the author somewhat frantically insists, there are works that possess an "uplifting and spiritual aspect." p The wonder is that Sargent's sisters preserved these works--which the artist had kept private--after his death. They are thrilling, as much for Sargent's astonishing facility with a brushload of color as for the sensuous subjects. The essay may be skipped by readers who wince when informed that any subject of a society portrait by Sargent was "transformed into a fashionable denizen of the Edwardian age, whomever he was." Author John Esten sniffs prissily at the suggestion that Sargent may have harbored homoerotic feelings, while the works themselves often unabashedly focus on the genitalia of the models, and the ones that don't are filled with the kind of closeness and warmth of observation that makes the model's soft skin seem almost palpable. Linger over the book's 18 color plates, which are a lasting, luscious pleasure; the scores of black-and-white drawings are similarly inspired. I--Peggy Moorman/I
Product Description
divPublished on occasion of the major Sargent retrospective traveling to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1999, iJohn Singer Sargent: The Male Nudes/i brings to light a fascinating portion of Sargent's work long hidden from the public eye.brbrBeginning in his adolescence, and throughout his distinguished career, John Singer Sargent, the celebrated painter of patricians, produced a superbly rendered, uninhibited book of work that was rarely seen and never exhibited: the male nudes. Models were a significant aspect of the great painter's profession, whether they were commission-producing society "sitters" or professional models used as reference for his three Boston mural projects or works created for his private enjoyment--one young Italian model stayed in the artist's employ for nearly twenty-six years. Sargent's enduring subject was capturing the "human form divine" in portraits of the fashionable and famous and the absolute male.brbrOver the last century, these little-known works have been dispersed to museum archives and private collections throughout the United States and Great Britain. John Esten has unearthed the most extraordinary of these images, ranging from vibrant watercolors and oil paintings to charcoal studies, published here for the first time in a single volume.br/div
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Nice collection June 15, 2008
Jarber3 (Salt Lake City, UT USA)
A very nice collection of an often over looked body of Mr. Sargent's work along with an appropriate amount of written background on the subjects and paintings themselves.
 A delightful slim volume January 7, 2008
Benjamin (UK)
Following the foreword are two very brief essays which discuss Sargent's background and his work. A sensitive and intelligent appraisal of the artist and his approach to the studies under consideration here, one that especially in the light of the context does not skirt around the inclinations of the artist's heart, and addresses the possibility of a relationship with his loyal and devoted lithe young Italian valet and occasional model who resided in the Sargent household for twenty six years. br / br /The work presented here is superb; sensitive yet dynamic drawings and paintings; the text makes an interesting observation to the observer's response to them, but however one views them one cannot deny their beauty. One of the first illustrated is an oil painting of a young boy lying on the beach, and the pose immediately brings to mind similar subject matter painted by Joaquin Sorolla, produced some twenty or so years after Sargent's effort. br / br /The plates run from page twelve to page seventy eight, and include sketches, charcoal drawings, watercolours and oils, of which eighteen are in full colour, occasionally accompanied by a few relevant notes. The book concludes with a chronology and selected bibliography. br / br /This is a delightful book, slim and not over large; the work contained within is unrestrained, evocative, seemingly effortless; unquestionably the work of a great master. br /
 SAVE YOUR MONEY! August 29, 2007
Sheila Johnston (Washington, DC)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Good heavens, this type of art may have been considered "risque" or bold or even vulgar at the time of its creation, but I was just bored. The male figure, in various poses, without clothing. *yawns*
An important side of Sargent rarely seen May 5, 2007
Blue (Washington, DC United States)
This short book by John Esten is a well-illustrated look at one subject area in John Singer Sargent's works that is not often examined in an focused or isolated manner. This missing scholarship probably has its roots in the historic squeamishness attached to too hard a look at the male anatomy in print. So bravos to the author for taking this on and doing a fine job of it. Among other things, this is a useful collection for anyone who is trying his own hand at figure drawing--Sargent is a master to be studied seriously. Beyond that, the paintings and drawings illustrated are a joy to behold. The text of the book is rather brief, but adequate in providing some speculative background into the painter's work with and interest in the male figure. Overall, this is a fine and valuable book for anyone interested in Sargent or, more generally, in figure painting.
Images that speak for themselves January 11, 2003
Charles S. Houser (Binghamton, NY)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
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.pIf 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.
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