Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose - John Singer Sargent
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Description
A classic Impressionist work by John Singer Sargent, capturing two children lighting lanterns in a garden at twilight.
John Singer Sargent painted Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose during the summer and autumn of 1885 and 1886 in the village of Broadway, Worcestershire. The work depicts two young girls, Polly and Dorothy Barnard, lighting paper lanterns in a garden at twilight. Sargent sought to capture the specific quality of light during the brief period of dusk, which necessitated painting outdoors for only a few minutes each evening to maintain consistency in the illumination.
The composition is notable for its lack of a traditional horizon line, as the viewer is placed directly within the garden space. The girls are surrounded by white lilies, carnations, and roses, which create a dense, immersive environment. Sargent employed a technique that balances precise observation with loose, painterly brushwork. The white dresses of the children serve as a reflective surface for the warm glow of the lanterns, contrasting with the cool, darkening tones of the garden foliage.
This painting reflects the influence of French Impressionism on Sargent, particularly in his focus on the effects of natural light and colour. He spent considerable time adjusting the placement of the flowers and the lanterns to achieve the desired visual harmony. The title is derived from the lyrics of a popular song of the period, 'The Wreath' by Joseph Mazzinghi, which the artist heard while boating on the River Thames. The work remains a primary example of Sargent's ability to combine academic training with the experimental approaches of his contemporaries, resulting in a scene that feels both immediate and carefully constructed.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
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- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose - John Singer Sargent
Artist Biography
John Singer Sargent
He was born in Florence to American expatriate parents and grew up moving between European cities. He never lived in America until he was middle-aged. He studied under Carolus-Duran in Paris, who taught him to paint directly from observation without underdrawing: load the brush, find the right tone, put it down in one stroke. The method required extraordinary hand-eye coordination and supreme confidence. Sargent had both.
Madame X, painted in 1884, nearly ended his career. The portrait of Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau, an American socialite in Parisian society, showed her in a black dress with one shoulder strap hanging off. The Salon audience was scandalised. Sargent repainted the strap in its proper position but the damage was done. He left Paris for London and rebuilt.
In London he became the portraitist of choice for the Anglo-American upper class. The technique is astonishing: he painted quickly, in long single-session sittings, and the brushwork has a fluency that makes other portraitists look laborious. The Wyndham Sisters, Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, and the portrait of Theodore Roosevelt show what he could do at full stretch.
He eventually did stop. After 1907 he largely abandoned portraits for watercolours and the murals at the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts. The watercolours, painted on travels through Italy, Spain, and the Middle East, are looser and freer than the portraits and possibly better. He died in London in 1925, at sixty-nine.
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