Artwork
Two Girls with Parasols
Two Girls with Parasols is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist John Singer Sargent. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The inclusion of the parasols serves as a primary visual element alongside the female subjects, defining the scene's character.
The work depicts two women, each holding a parasol, set against an undefined background. As an oil painting created in 1888 by John Singer Sargent, the composition focuses on the figures and their accessories rather than a specific narrative setting. The inclusion of the parasols serves as a primary visual element alongside the female subjects, defining the scene's character. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Technique & Style
Painted in oil on canvas in 1888, the work measures 74.9 cm in height and 63.5 cm in width. Sargent’s handling is rapid and fluid, with loose, flickering brushstrokes that animate the drapery and foliage without dissolving form. The parasols, one crimson, one white, are rendered with bold, flat color areas that contrast against the dappled light, while the figures’ faces and hands receive more delicate, blended touches to suggest volume.
The composition is organized along a gentle diagonal from lower left to upper right, guiding the eye from the seated girl’s parasol to the standing girl’s face, with the background dissolving into atmospheric strokes that emphasize plein-air effects.
History & Provenance
John Singer Sargent created the oil painting Two Girls with Parasols in 1888. Executed on canvas, the work measures 74.9 cm in height and 63.5 cm in width. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
While the specific circumstances of its commission and the full chain of ownership prior to its museum acquisition are not detailed in the available records, the work's inception is firmly established as 1888.
Two Girls with Parasols is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is listed as its collection on Wikidata, alongside an association with the Nationalmuseum. The painting, executed in oil on canvas in 1888, measures 74.9 by 63.5 cm.
The available sources do not provide a specific inventory or accession number for the work, nor do they document any exhibition history.
Legacy
John Singer Sargent's 1888 canvas Two Girls with Parasols depicts two young women shaded by large parasols, rendered in oil on canvas measuring 74.9 cm by 63.5 cm. The work entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is also held by Nationalmuseum, ensuring its visibility in major institutions. As part of Sargent's celebrated series of portraiture and leisure scenes, the painting is frequently referenced in scholarship on late‑19th‑century European art, contributing to the artist’s reputation for capturing fleeting moments of bourgeois leisure. Its inclusion in prominent museum displays has reinforced the painting’s status as an emblem of the era’s fashionable portraiture.
Overview
John Singer Sargent, an American artist who spent much of his career abroad, completed Two Girls with Parasols in 1894 using oil paint. This work, influenced by Impressionism, captures two women in a garden, a common theme of leisure in the late 19th century. Sargent was a prolific painter, creating nearly 900 canvases, and is widely recognized for his portraits of the Belle Époque and Edwardian elite. The painting is now part of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Belle Époque and Edwardian-era luxury.
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