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A woman with pale skin and dark brown hair is swathed in silky fabric as she reclines along a gray couch in this horizontal painting. Her head rests along the backrest of the sofa to our left, so her body extends to our right. Her torso is wrapped in a voluminous, ivory-white scarf or wrap. The scarf wraps tightly around her neck, and the bottom edge, near her knees, has a wide, indigo-blue pattern of ovals and vegetal forms. Her shimmering silver gray skirt is painted loosely with baby and sky blue, olive and sage green, and white strokes, and it drapes over the cushions and down the front of the couch. Her hands are clasped so her interwoven fingers rest at her navel. She looks down and off to our right. A table to our left is edged with gold. The wall behind her, above the couch, is painted with long streaks of eggshell white and pale turquoise. The gold frame of a dark painting hanging over the couch spans the width of the composition. Near the upper right corner of the canvas, the artist included a signature and as if he had signed the painting within this painting with loose, dark letters: “John S. Sargent 1911.”

John Singer Sargent, Nonchaloir (Repose), 1911, oil on canvas, Gift of Curt H. Reisinger, 1948.16.1
Lectures

John Singer Sargent in the National Gallery of Art

In-Depth Lectures: Sargent and Spain

  • Sunday, November 13, 2022
  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • East Building Auditorium
From the series In-Person Lectures: Sargent and Spain

This lecture reveals the rich holdings of works by John Singer Sargent housed in the National Gallery of Art’s permanent collection.

Unable to attend this lecture in-person? Register for the virtual version of this lecture.