John Singer Sargent: The Spanish Dancer

In 1879 John Singer Sargent, an American artist living in France, spent five months touring Spain and North Africa. Sargent returned to Paris with sketches of Spanish flamenco dancers and the germ of an idea for his first full-scale salon painting, El Jaleo. Sargent’s composition for the monumental painting developed over three years through a series of drawings and watercolors. His principal effort went into the figure of The Spanish Dancer. This is a full-size oil painting of this dancer, Sargent’s first attempt to paint this subject. This masterpiece is owned by a private collector.