Member Reviews
I knew a little of Sargent’s paintings but nothing of the artist himself and nothing of the Wetheimer family. Despite that, I was excited to read this biography! I’m not well-versed in art history, and I’m finding as I get older, I am enjoying digging into new-to-me subjects.
Strouse is a well-known biographer, and I can understand why after reading Family Romance. It is an incredibly easy-to-read biography, and she effortlessly weaves the stories of both Sargent and several family members together, as well as covering a turbulent and complex period in European history with ease. Given that we are dealing with twelve family members, Sargent, and several key figures in society and politics, it is an impressive biography.
I also appreciated that Strouse provided a list of the museums/ collections where each of the Wertheimer portraits are held now. It brought the history of this artist and this family to the present, and gave me a further chance of reflection.
I love art history and was very excited to learn more about John Singer Sargent and his relationship/work with the Wertheimers! Unfortunately this did not work for me. The author clearly did a lot of research but at times it felt completely unnecessary to tell the story, causing the book to be slow, with dry academic writing. At times it felt like I was reading a textbook and I can appreciate the effort to create a full picture of the time period but then why discuss the parents of these figures and their familial history? Too much information led to the main “meat” of the story to be bogged down. I’d recommend if you have a background in art history either via a degree or it’s your career field, but as a casual enthusiast for art history this will not be an enjoyable read
A book which is well researched and informative. I learned a lot and was hooked by the storytelling and the information
I strongly recommend it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Any worries I had of this book being a dry academic work were quickly dispelled on reading the first few chapters. It’s a fascinating work filled with historical and process descriptions which complement each other perfectly.
I learned a lot and it led me into further research about Sergeants work.
Well written nicely paced! thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you
I could hardly believe my luck when a forthcoming book by Jean Strouse turned up in NetGalley to request. I didn't even look at what it was about until later, because I knew it would be worth reading. In 1985 I read Strouse's subtle and intelligent biography of Alice James, and really haven't run across her much since. Clearly, for much of that time she has been researching John Singer Sargent and the members of the Wertheimer family that he painted.
This book weaves a large and complex tapestry of the lives and worlds of wealthy Jewish families who established themselves in England in the 19th century. I know almost nothing about the world of art dealers, but the Wertheimer family made their fortune in the field, and it could be cutthroat. Sargent specialized for years in doing portraiture, which the family could afford, and he became quite close to many of the family members. Before he finally gave up portrait painting (his greatest genius) he painted not only all the Wertheimers but also many of the other wealthy Jewish people in their greater circle.
Following each member of the family through their lives, the book becomes almost a group biography. So many of them died quite young. Only one returned to continental Europe and died while interned, in fascist Italy. While the English Wertheimers did not suffer the catastrophe visited upon Jewish people (wealthy and otherwise) on the continent in the twentieth century, there was plenty of casual antisemitism in their world, even from the so-called progressives of the Bloomsbury set. And the disputed and varying place of Sargent's work in the world of British art is laid out, often with reference to the inexplicable hostility of the critic Roger Fry.
A helpful appendix at the back provides a list of all of the Jewish people portrayed in the work of Sargent, as well as a list of the current museum location of all his portraits of the Wertheimer family.
Worth reading for its intelligent look at both an artist and one of the specific worlds he portrayed.
A beautiful iconography for a fascinating book. What an excellent idea ! As a European, a lot of the pictures were unknown to me, and also the point of view of the author is educating. A thoroughly enjoyable read, I would recommend to anyone to spend relaxing and informative time with this title.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley, all opinions are mine.