Nude Study of Thomas E. McKeller c. 1917 - 1920

John Singer Sargent made this oil painting of Thomas E. McKeller, a model, at an unknown date. Look at that palette: it’s all warm golds, browns, and tans, with that blue burst above McKeller’s head, like a halo. Sargent knew how to play with those skin tones, those fleshy colours. The painting feels like a moment caught, a sketch or a study, as the title suggests. But what a study. The paint is thin, almost translucent in places, allowing light to pass through and bounce back. But then there’s those thick impasto strokes around the base where he’s kneeling, full of texture and grit. I find myself focusing on the model’s right arm; the way the light catches the curve of his bicep. It’s all brushstrokes and muscle, a kind of pure painting. Sargent captures the essence of his subject with such economy. He was no doubt influenced by the old masters like Velázquez, but he’s got a freedom, a looseness, that feels all his own.