Life Study (Study of an Egyptian Girl), An internationally renowned portrait painter, John Singer Sargent also executed several mural commissions, including a cycle on the history of religion for the Boston Public Library (1890–1919). Sargent traveled to Egypt in 1891 in search of source material and inspiration, painting this full-length figure study in a studio in Cairo. Instead of using the bravura painterly style that characterized his society portraits, Sargent returned to his academic training, carefully modeling the woman’s form and flesh tones. She assumes a complicated pose, placing her weight on her right foot while twisting her upper body to the left. Study from Life was widely exhibited, including at the Salon du Champs de Mars in Paris in 1892 and the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. (http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/121629?search_no=1&index=5) Art Institute of Chicago (United States) The nude Egyptian Girl, I believe, is the only female nude that Sargent did in oil. As the name implies, the painting was done in Egypt on his trip there to do research for the Boston Public Library murals. In some ways it harks back to the Velazquez's Venus at her Mirror. Like Sargent, this was Velazquez's only female nude and both men paint their subject facing away. Although it is not known for sure that Venus at her Mirror was the painting that influenced Sargent's Egyptian Girl, the importance of Velazquez work in influencing Sargent's art is well documented and if it wasn't on his mind, the coincidences are remarkable. Notice, particularly, the very delicate modulation of skin color in Sargent's painting which Velazquez used as well. In any regards, Sargent knew he needed to paint a great female nude in order to demonstrate his virtuosity; and without it, his oeuvre would remain incomplete. From a long line of Great Masters, from a long line of paintings of the female nude, Sargent gives us his submission to the discourse. The public embraced it wholeheartedly -- both at the New English Art Club exhibition of 1891, and at the World Columbian Exposition, Chicago of 1893. At 73 inches high, or slightly over 6 feet tall, this is not just a study, but an adroit statement. by Natasha Wallace (http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Egyptian_Girl.htm)