A Spanish Madonna
painter
John Singer Sargent
(Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Dateabout 1879
Place MadeSpain, Europe
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions34 x 15 cm (13 3/8 x 5 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP27w2
eMuseum ID723699
EmbARK ObjectID10872
TMS Source ID138
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb Commentary
John Singer Sargent gave Isabella this small sketch of a Spanish Madonna that he likely painted during his travels throughout Spain in 1879. The frontal pose, clasped hands, and halo recall the portrait of Isabella that Sargent painted in 1888, on display in the Museum's Gothic Room.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 254.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), p. 227.
Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt. "Mrs. Gardner's Renaissance." Imaging the Self in Renaissance Italy. Fenway Court, vol. 23 (1990-1991), pp. 21-22.
Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray. John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1871–1882. Complete Paintings Volume IV (New Haven and London, 2006), p. 249, no. 762. (dated as about 1879)
Diana Seave Greenwald and Erica Hirshler, "The Story Behind John Singer Sargent's Portait of Isabella Stewart Gardner," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 30 November 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/story-behind-john-singer-sargents-portrait-isabella-stewart-gardner
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), p. 227.
Kathleen Weil-Garris Brandt. "Mrs. Gardner's Renaissance." Imaging the Self in Renaissance Italy. Fenway Court, vol. 23 (1990-1991), pp. 21-22.
Richard Ormond and Elaine Kilmurray. John Singer Sargent: Figures and Landscapes, 1871–1882. Complete Paintings Volume IV (New Haven and London, 2006), p. 249, no. 762. (dated as about 1879)
Diana Seave Greenwald and Erica Hirshler, "The Story Behind John Singer Sargent's Portait of Isabella Stewart Gardner," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 30 November 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/story-behind-john-singer-sargents-portrait-isabella-stewart-gardner
MarksNotesInscribed and signed (lower edge): To Mrs. I Gardner John S. Sargent
ProvenanceNotesGift from John Singer Sargent to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1888-1897.
