Portrait of Madame X

Madame X or Portrait of Madame X is an 1884 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. 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, though it may have helped him later establish a successful career in Britain and America. Background The model was an American French creole immigrant from New Orleans in Louisiana who married a French banker twice her age and...