Portrait of Madame X

I once had the pleasure of seeing in person "Portrait of Madame X", a painting by John Singer Sargent. The painting is currently part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York City. The art department at my university held a trip to New York City to view the art and culture that the city has to offer. The trip happened several years ago, but this painting has stuck with me ever since.

As I walked around the MET, I remember seeing Madame X for the first time. I was mesmerized by this painting and for some reason, was very drawn to it. The woman seemed so elegant and sophisticated.

I decided to do some research into this painting. The portrait is of a young woman named Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau, wife of Pierre Gautreau. She was an American expatriate known for her beauty and infidelities. She often wore lavender powder and prided herself on her appearance.

This piece was done as a request from Sargent, not a commission. The painting is characterized by the contrast of Gautreau's pale skin and the black dress and dark background. When Sargent unveiled this painting at the Paris Salon in 1884, it amounted to the failure of his strategy to become a prolific portrait painter in France. The subject of the painting was supposed to be anonymous, but this attempt failed. Everyone was shocked and outraged when this painting debuted. The sitters mother attempted to have the painting removed, but Sargent refused saying he had painted her "exactly as she was dressed, that nothing could be said of the canvas worse than had been said in print of her appearance"

Sargent sold this painting in 1916 to the MET stating "I suppose it is the best thing I have ever done"