Madam X

The painting that scandalized the art world.

John Singer Sargent gave his painting to the MET in 1916. The original version showed one of the strap hanging from her shoulder which caused the famous scandal.

1884, Paris Salon Exhibition, John Singer Sargent's public’s reaction to his painting was so vehement that Sargent moved out of the country, and his high-society model’s reputation was forever tarnished.

“After the Salon, fame briefly morphed into infamy, and Madame Gautreau was subject to derision and jeers in the drawing rooms of Paris.” Viewers understood the subject’s bare shoulder, with its dangling strap and exposed cleavage, as a nod towards Gautreau’s loose sexual morals.

Gautreau’s mother was furious. According to a Tribune article, she lamented to Sargent, “All Paris is making fun of my daughter... She is ruined. My people will be forced to defend themselves. She’ll die of chagrin.”

When he gave the painting to the Metropolitan Museum in 1916, he insisted the institution continue to disguise the subject’s identity. And thus, “Madame X” has, instead of adopting the far more banal Portrait of Mme. Pierre Gautreau, retained its teasing title.

A study of the portrait.

The missing strap and the pale white skin which was either rice dust makeup or she was taking arsenic to lighten her complexion.  

She was difficult to paint, impatient, and did not like to sit still for long periods. JSS wrote I'm "still in this country house struggling with the unpaintable beauty and hopeless laziness of Mme. Gautreau.”