Sargent and the Sea

I meant to but never blogged about seeing the exhibit, Sargent and the Sea, at the Corcoran Gallery with Hopkins last week.

Not only did Sargent paint gorgeous portraits of wealthy women in luxurious dresses (he is a master of painting fabric






















), but he also painted many marine subjects, particularly early in his career.

Something that stuck out to me from the exhibit was the way in which he painted the same scene in two slightly, but noticeably different ways.

















Of course it's hard to tell from these pictures of the two paintings, but evidently one was painted in the style that was popular in his day (which is also a good deal bigger than the other one). The other was painted in a more cutting-edge style. He exhibited them in different exhibits. How masterful and clever! These pictures are called, "En route pour la peche" or "Setting out to fish"; and "Fishing for Oysters at Cancale."