Photography

Watch Nicole Kidman as John Singer Sargent’s Sitters

Zuzanna Stańska 12 January 2022 min Read

In June 1999, Nicole Kidman was featured on the cover of Vogue. She was photographed and posed in a number of John Singer Sargent re-imaginings by the Vogue’s photographer, Steven Meisel. Some of the photos are clear homages, while others are a little more imaginative. All are absolutely beautiful, and I encourage you to look into them. I’m posting a couple right here for your enjoyment. You will find all the classics, including the famous Madame X.

Meisel’s photographs pay homage to Sargent in more than one way. The photographs seem to capture some of Nicole Kidman’s personality as well. To quote the cover heading, she appears both “fearless and fabulous.” This is what Sargent was famous of too – capturing conscious realism and his attention to not only detail, but the characters of his sitters.

Beautiful!

Madame X

nicole kidman sargent
Left: Steven Meisel, Nicole Kidman for June 1999 Vogue issue. Twitter; Right: John Singer Sargent, Madame X, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. Detail.

Mrs Carl Meyer and Her Children

nicole kidman sargent vogue
Left: Steven Meisel, Nicole Kidman for June 1999 Vogue issue. Twitter; Right: John Singer Sargent, Mrs Carl Meyer and Her Children, 1896, Tate Britain, London, UK. Detail.

Lady Agnew

nicole kidman sargent vogue 1999
Left: Steven Meisel, Nicole Kidman for June 1999 Vogue issue. Twitter; Right: John Singer Sargent, Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892, The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.

Mrs John Chapman

Nicole Kidman Sargent
Left: Steven Meisel, Nicole Kidman for June 1999 Vogue issue. Twitter; Right: John Singer Sargent, Mrs John Chapman, 1893, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, USA.

Mrs George Swinton

Nicole Kidman Sargent
Left: Steven Meisel, Nicole Kidman for June 1999 Vogue issue. Twitter; Right: John Singer Sargent, Mrs George Swinton, 1897, Art Institute Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA. Detail.

Mrs Charles E. Inches

nicole kidman sargent vogue 1999
Left: Steven Meisel, Nicole Kidman for June 1999 Vogue issue. Twitter; Right: John Singer Sargent, Mrs Charles E. Inches, 1887, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, USA.

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