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Night

1870
Not on view
Sargent was born in Florence to American parents and spent much of his childhood in Italy. As an aspiring young painter, he understood that the study of the works of the great artists were essential to his artistic education. Sargent particularly admired the Renaissance master Michelangelo, whose presence was felt throughout Florence, where Sargent lived with his family in the late 1860s and early 1870s. Sargent made this sketch after Michelangelo’s Night (1519–34), on the tomb of Giuliano de Medici in the Medici Chapel in the church of San Lorenzo, Florence, when he was just fourteen years old. Traces of adjusted contour lines suggest that the young Sargent had some trouble rendering Night’s difficult pose: he elongated her twisted torso and struggled to portray her left foot, arms, and head.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Night
  • Artist: John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London)
  • Artist: After Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, Caprese 1475–1564 Rome)
  • Date: 1870
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Graphite on off-white wove paper
  • Dimensions: 10 3/4 x 15 1/4 in. (27.3 x 38.7 cm)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950
  • Object Number: 50.130.143z
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Mountain Landscape (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook), John Singer Sargent American, Graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Mountain Landscape (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook)
John Singer Sargent
1870
Wetterhorn, Grindelwald (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook), John Singer Sargent American, Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Wetterhorn, Grindelwald (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook)
John Singer Sargent
1870
Mount Pilatus, recto (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook), John Singer Sargent American, Wax crayon on off-white wove paper, American
Mount Pilatus, recto (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook)
John Singer Sargent
1870
Mountain View, Mürren (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook), John Singer Sargent American, Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Mountain View, Mürren (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook)
John Singer Sargent
1870
View from Schilthorn (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook), John Singer Sargent American, Graphite on off-white wove paper, American
View from Schilthorn (from "Splendid Mountain Watercolours" Sketchbook)
John Singer Sargent
1870

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