Seaside Pleasures: John Singer Sergeant at DC Corcoran Gallery

John Singer Sargent’s paintings of European seaside life are drenched with the sensations experienced when living in la dolce vita climates.

Some travelers receive the sensual beauty of Mediterranean cultures, living each moment as if baklava was always a sweet on their previously-barren dessert plate.

Sensual yeasayers will enjoy the showcase of Sargent’s beach and ocean sightings at Washington’s Cocoran Gallery of Art, in residence until January 3, 2010.

The Corcoran’s masterwork En Route pour la pêche (Setting out to Fish), 1878, will serve as the centerpiece of the exhibition, and will be joined by other works produced during, and inspired by, the artist’s summer journeys from his home in Paris to Brittany, Normandy, and Capri, as well as two transatlantic voyages.  Sargent and the Sea will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (February 14 – May 23, 2010) and the Royal Academy of Arts, London (July 10 – September 26, 2010).

“The Derelict” Sohn Singer Sergeant, 1876via Wall Street Journal: Sargent’s Sea Fever