
Portrait of Ena Wertheimer: A Vele Gonfie
This commanding full length portrait by John Singer Sargent depicts Ena Wertheimer, the eldest daughter of his close friend and prominent patron Asher Wertheimer, captured in a sweeping dark cloak and a feathered white hat as she glances back over her shoulder with effortless elegance. Painted in 1905, the title references the Italian phrase meaning 'with full sails,' evoking Ena's vivacious and confident presence. Sargent's bravura brushwork and dramatic use of chiaroscuro place this work firmly within his most celebrated period of portraiture, making it a cornerstone example for collectors focused on Gilded Age society painting. Its bold compositional energy and intimate psychological charge ensure enduring appeal among serious collectors of late 19th and early 20th century figurative art.
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- Museum · Tate BritainView on map
More by John Singer Sargent
Spotted works by John Singer Sargent
Artists in conversation

Giovanni Boldini
Italian · b. 1842

Boldini painted sweeping full length society portraits of Edwardian era women with the same bravura brushwork, dramatic dark backgrounds, and sense of kinetic elegance seen in this portrait of Ena Wertheimer. His swirling paint handling and chiaroscuro treatment of fashionably dressed female subjects make him the closest contemporary parallel to this specific work.

Jacques-Émile Blanche
French · b. 1861

Blanche created grand manner portraits of aristocratic and cultured society figures during the same Edwardian period, using loose impressionist brushwork, dark atmospheric backgrounds, and capturing the confident bearing of his subjects in a manner directly comparable to this portrait.
Philip de László
Hungarian · b. 1869
De László produced full length society portraits of wealthy Edwardian women with the same gilt age grandeur, dramatic use of dark backgrounds, and fluid oil handling that defines this Sargent portrait, often depicting his subjects in sweeping dark garments with an equally commanding sense of presence.

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