Paris pays homage to Sargent with an exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay.

Paris pays tribute to John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) with an exhibition running from tomorrow until January 11 at the Musée d'Orsay. Titled "John Singer Sargent. Eblouir Paris" (Enchanting Paris), the exhibition brings together over 90 works, including 66 paintings, by one of the greatest American painters of his generation. Among the most anticipated events of the cultural revival, the first French monographic exhibition dedicated to Sargent traces the artist's meteoric rise in Belle Époque Paris. Born in Florence to American parents, the globetrotting painter arrived in the French capital in 1874, at the tender age of eighteen, and remained there until 1880, when he moved to London following the scandal sparked at the Salon des Beaux-Arts by his most controversial masterpiece, the celebrated portrait of Virginie Gautreau (Madame X). During nearly a decade spent along the banks of the Seine, Sargent created some of his most celebrated paintings, distinguished by his boldness and inventiveness. Organized on the centennial of the painter's death in partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the exhibition follows a chronological path, with an opening room rich in biographical references. It all began in 1853, when Mary Newbold Singer persuaded her husband, Fitzwilliam Sargent, to suspend his promising career as a surgeon in Philadelphia to travel to Europe. Their son John was born a few years later, in 1856, in Florence. As a child, he spoke four languages, excelled at the piano, and by the age of twelve, developed a marked propensity for drawing and watercolor. Driven by curiosity and a thirst for discovery, his parents, accompanied by young John and his two sisters, traveled to the four corners of the continent. The young man began copying watercolors in the studio of landscape painter Karl Welsch in Rome and briefly attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. In May 1874, the Sargents moved to Paris, then renowned for its artists' studios and the École des Beaux-Arts. Accompanied by his father, John knocked on the door of the studio of Carlus-Duran, a "realist" painter who had become a successful portraitist. Astonished by Sargent's flair, the latter invited him to take his classes, which were attended primarily by English and American students. At the same time, Sargent passed the entrance exam to the École des Beaux-Arts, a stone's throw from the Louvre. This marked the beginning of an exceptional decade (1874–1884), which would mark his affirmation as a painter in France and beyond. Constantly seeking new inspiration, the painter, now living in Paris, rarely depicted local life, but instead took advantage of the opportunity to travel throughout Europe and North Africa, bringing back landscapes and genre scenes that met with great success. Along the way, he encountered numerous references to his travels, including Spain, Morocco, and Italy. Capri, first and foremost, with the highly sensual model Rosina Ferrara portrayed among the olive trees or on the island's rooftops, but also alleyways, Venetian interiors, and views of the Serenissima. A large section is then dedicated to Sargent's mastery of portraiture. In Paris, the young artist collected awards at the Exposition des Beaux-Arts and commissions, both from bohemian artists of the time and from wealthy American expatriates and local aristocrats. Also on display at the Musée d'Orsay are 'The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit' (1882), inspired by Velázquez's Las Meninas, the 'scandalous 'Madame X' (1883-1883), and Carmencita (1890). Accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue, the exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Sylvain Amic, the president of the Musée d'Orsay, who died prematurely last summer.