Two Heads
1875-1880
Medium
graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
sheet: 8.57 × 16.19 cm (3 3/8 × 6 3/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Miss Emily Sargent and Mrs. Francis Ormond, sisters of the artist)
Accession Number
2015.19.693
Art Historical Context
"Two Heads" is a delicate graphite drawing on wove paper by John Singer Sargent, created between 1875 and 1880. Measuring just 8 3/8 × 6 3/8 inches, this intimate sketch captures the artist's early mastery during his formative years in Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and under the portraitist Carolus-Duran. At ages 19 to 24, Sargent was honing his skills in observation and line work, laying the groundwork for his later fame as a virtuoso portrait painter blending Realism with Impressionist flair. The use of graphite on smooth wove paper allowed Sargent to achieve subtle to...
About the Artist
John Singer Sargent · 1856–1925
John Singer Sargent, born on January 12, 1856, in Florence to American expatriate parents FitzWilliam Sargent, an eye surgeon and medical illustrator, and Mary Newbold Singer, an amateur artist, enjoyed a nomadic childhood across Europe. His mother nurtured his artistic inclinations with sketchbooks and museum visits, while he received early watercolor lessons from German landscape painter Carl We...