Artist: John Singleton Copley Place/date of birth: Boston, Massachusetts 1738 Place/date of death: London, England 1815 Title of work: Mary Turner Sargent Date of completion: 1763 Materials: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 50 x 40 inches Signed and dated lower left: John Singleton Copley/Pinx 1763. Collection: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Accession number: 1979.7.31 Introduction This work was painted by John Singleton Copley, widely considered the greatest American portraitist of the eighteenth century. Copley was the first American artist to succeed in creating the illusion of a three-dimensional reality on canvas. This portrait depicts Mary Turner Sargent of Gloucester, Massachusetts shortly after her marriage to Daniel Sargent, a wealthy ship owner. Discussion As modern viewers, we appreciate this portrait of Mary Sargent primarily as a beautiful representation of a person who lived in the distant past. To Mary Sargent's contemporaries, the picture contained much more information. With the help of a boned corset, Mary stands perfectly erect, holding her arms in a pose that may now seem somewhat dramatic and pretentious, but which was then considered to be graceful. This posture did not come naturally to Mary Sargent; it was taught to her as a young child. By walking and standing in this refined manner, Mary Sargent silently announced the kind of upbringing she had. Today, most parents do not formally teach posture to children, or make young girls wear corsets (or hoop skirts, for that matter). However, the idea that good posture indicates a good upbringing and a positive self-image is still with us. When someone tells you to stand up straight, or not to lean back on your chair, their ideas about the "proper" way to stand or sit are based on the same ideas about posture that Mary Sargent learned as a young child in colonial America. Looking Closely There is no evidence of a colonial garden resembling the one in the walled patio where Mary Sargent stands. Like the portrait of Grizzell Apthorp, this setting was probably copied from a print so that the painting would resemble a portrait of an upper class English person. Copley often relied on English models for his compositions. Mary Sargent holds a scallop shell in a stream of water, symbolism also borrowed from an English print. The shell is an attribute of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, while the water symbolizes life and purity. Style Even though Mary Sargent stands in a fictitious place, her size and the realistic way she is portrayed make it easy for us to accept her as"real." (Whereas in the portrait of Grizzell Apthorp, we may have a harder time perceiving her as real.) Mary Sargent's portrait may appear more real because of the painstaking way the artist painted all of the different textures and surfaces in the picture. A visitor to Copley's studio noted that he would mix paint on his palette for every individual tint and hold each color up to his model to confirm its accuracy--a very long process. Think of all the subtle gradations of color -- even within a small part of the face -- and imagine how much time this would take. Mary Sargent's son reported that his mother told him that she sat for this painting "fifteen or sixteen times! Six hours at a time!" Artist Copley's stepfather was an engraver who taught him the many skills required of an artist. By the age of twenty-five, Copley was one of the most successful portrait painters in the colonies, renowned for his ability to paint likenesses and realistic renditions of the lace, textiles, and furniture with which the wealthiest citizens surrounded themselves. Colonial Boston proved too limited for Copley, whose ambition and drive for self-improvement gave him a desire to live in England. After he submitted a painting to the Royal Academy in London in 1765, prominent members of the Royal Academy urged Copley to study in London. Increasing tensions between the colonies and England only added impetus to Copley's plans to relocate to a place where he could pursue his career without difficultly. Although not interested in politics himself, Copley knew that if he chose either side in the struggle for independence, he would alienate half of his clientele. Copley sailed for England in 1774 on the eve of the American Revolution, and he remained there for the last forty years of his life. Links to American History Curriculum
SLIDE 5
MARY TURNER SARGENT
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