John Singer Sargent (Florence, 12 January 1856 - London, 14 April 1925) was an American painter, best known for his portraits.
Sargent had American parents, but was born in Italy and lived most of his life in Europe. He became particularly famous for his portraits (Rodin called him 'the van Dyck of our time'), but at the end of his life he also devoted himself to the painting of landscapes. He made a total of about 900 oil paintings, 2000 watercolours and numerous sketches and charcoal drawings.
Sargent's style is realistic, but often also coarse, in which he clearly expresses the characteristics of the person being portrayed.
