John Singer Sargent frequently painted informal portraits of fellow artists in addition to the formal portrait commissions he executed for wealthy European and American clients. Francesco Bernareggi (1878-1959) was an Argentinean painter whom Sargent met on holiday on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1908. Sargent rendered Bernareggi's attractive likeness in whipping, confident strokes, while he left the canvas' brown underpainting largely exposed at the bottom. Yellow and golden marks surrounding the Argentinean's head produce the effect that he is silhouetted by the sun and evoke Sargent's warm feelings for his colleague.
