John Singer Sargent

Firenze 1856-Londra 1925

Born in Florence to American parents, he spent his youth in Rome, Switzerland and the Côte d'Azur. A cosmopolitan, he visited his birthplace for the first time aged 20. He began to train at the Accademia in Florence and continued at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Consolidating his reputation as a portrait painter in France and in London, he cut back on his output of portraits in the early 20th century and travelled in Europe, starting to paint outdoors.