Portrait of Douglas Vickers 1914

Editor: This is John Singer Sargent's "Portrait of Douglas Vickers," painted in 1914. It's an oil painting, and something about the muted tones gives it a very formal, almost serious air. What are your thoughts when you look at it? Curator: Well, he's certainly a chap who commands attention, isn't he? Sargent captures that turn-of-the-century Edwardian swagger. You see it in the perfectly groomed moustache, the assured gaze. But it's more than just a likeness, don't you think? It's an impression, an atmosphere. The way the light catches his brow hints at depth, maybe even a touch of melancholy, which I always look for! Do you get that sense, or is it just my imagination running wild again? Editor: I do see that. There’s a vulnerability in his eyes, contrasting with the very poised posture. The dark palette certainly enhances that effect. Curator: Precisely! Sargent wasn’t just painting faces, he was painting character. The man was a virtuoso with a brush, capturing a sense of the sitter's social standing. Douglas Vickers, of course, from that famed Sheffield steel family. Industrial might, you see, rendered with painterly finesse. Makes you wonder what Vickers was really thinking behind that elegant façade, doesn't it? Editor: It really does. I’d not considered all those different layers within the image, that suggestion of inner turmoil. Curator: Ah, well, that’s the joy of art, isn’t it? Always revealing, if we care to look closely. Every portrait tells a story. We’ve only just cracked the spine on this one.