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Custom Framed art print; Smoke of Ambergris by John Singer Sargent - $95 (Natick)
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Framed dim: 23" x 31" x 1.5", quality frame! Excellent condition.
Original visible at Clark Museum in Williamstown, mA.
John Singer Sargent
American, 1856–1925
Fumée d'ambre gris (Smoke of Ambergris)
1880
A woman holds part of her elaborate garment over a silver censer to capture the perfumed smoke of smoldering ambergris. A waxy substance extracted from whales, ambergris was used in some religious rituals and was also said to have aphrodisiac qualities. Sargent began this painting in Tangier, with a model posed on the patio of a rented house, but he completed it in his Paris studio. The finished painting presents a fantasy for Western eyes, combining details of costume and setting adapted from different regions across North Africa.