John Singer Sargent (Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
Charles Martin Loeffler, 1903
Oil on canvas , 87 x 62 cm (34 1/4 x 24 7/16 in.)
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This vertical oil painting is a portrait of Charles Martin Loeffler, a composer and violinist. Loeffler is positioned such that he stands facing to our right with his right arm resting on a coat or other piece of clothing draped over a wooden railing. He looks straight ahead with a pensive expression. Loeffler is light-skinned, and has a receding hairline with nicely groomed hair on the sides and back. He has a well-trimmed chevron mustache and goatee. A ray of light highlights his right ear and cheek ,and his forehead. Loeffler wears a dark brown jacket over a bright white shirt with a brown necktie. The ray of light also highlights the white of the shirt, revealing the shadow of the tie on it. The fingers of Loeffler’s left hand wrap around the neck of a violin. His right hand drapes down over the railing, with the white cuff of his shirt visible. Loeffler’s figure is set against a muted brown background. In the upper corner to our right is the inscription: To Mrs. Gardner, con buone feste/from her friend John S. Sargent.
Yellow Room
Commentary
This fresh and spontaneous portrait links three close friends: Isabella Stewart Gardner, John Singer Sargent, and the sitter, Charles Loeffler (1861-1935), who was a composer and violinist. A month after Fenway Court opened, Gardner invited Sargent to use the Gothic Room as his studio. Sargent painted Loeffler's portrait there in less than three hours, and then presented it to Mrs. Gardner on her birthday. Born in France, Loeffler immigrated to the United States in 1881. He was joint first violinist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but left to devote himself to composing. A few days after receiving this portrait, Gardner presented a concert of Loeffler's compositions at Fenway Court, including the premiere of his Pagan Poem.
Source: Alan Chong, "Music and Life at Fenway Court," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): XVIII.
Source: Alan Chong, "Music and Life at Fenway Court," in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): XVIII.