The Hermit (Il solitario)

1908
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 768
Sargent based this painting on sketches he had made in Val d’Aosta, in the foothills of the Alps, in northwestern Italy. Although he seems to have been preoccupied with rendering the sundappled landscape in textured brushstrokes, he also included two deer (contrived from a stuffed specimen) and a male figure that evokes religious personages such as Saint Jerome. Yet, when approving The Hermit as the translated title of the picture, Sargent wrote to the director of the Metropolitan, “I wish there were another simple word that did not bring with it any Christian association, and that rather suggested quietness and pantheism.”

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Hermit (Il solitario)
  • Artist: John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London)
  • Date: 1908
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 37 3/4 x 38 in. (95.9 x 96.5 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1911
  • Object Number: 11.31
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.