John singer sargent madame gautreau watercolor study
John singer sargent madame gautreau watercolor study
John singer sargent madame gautreau watercolor study center.
Portrait of Madame X
Painting by John Singer Sargent
Madame X or Portrait of Madame X is a portrait painting by John Singer Sargent of a young socialite, Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, wife of the French banker Pierre Gautreau.
Madame X was painted not as a commission, but at the request of Sargent.[1] It is a study in opposition. Sargent shows a woman posing in a black satin dress with jeweled straps, a dress that reveals and hides at the same time.
The portrait is characterized by the pale flesh tone of the subject contrasted against a dark-colored dress and background.
The scandal resulting from the painting's controversial reception at the Paris Salon of 1884 amounted to a temporary setback to Sargent while in France,[2] though it may have helped him later establish a successful career in Britain and America.[3]
Background
The model was an American French creole immigrant from New Orleans in Louisiana who married a French banke