JOHN SINGER SARGENT

Mosquito Nets is a beautiful example of Sargent’s ability to translate a momentary impression into a masterful composition. The picture represents the artist’s sister Emily with her friend Eliza Wedgwood, a member of the famous porcelain manufacturing family. It was painted in Valdemosa, Majorca, where the three were spending an autumn holiday. There, in Eliza’s words, “Sargent painted in oils such an amusing picture of Emily and me—in what John called ‘Garde Mangers,’ Emily’s invention for keeping out mosquitoes.” In this intimate and affectionate view, we see the women close-up and at a diagonal angle, reminiscent of “snapshot” views used by Cassatt and Degas. Emily is seated in an armchair and rests against one of the red pillows from the sofa beside her; Eliza is reclining on the sofa.