#amélie gautreau

[pagansphinx]

The Story of Madame X

John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925) • Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau) • 1883-84 • Metropolitan Museum of Art

Photograph of Sargent with what is perhaps his most famous portrait – that of the very wealthy socialite, Madame Gautreau. This is not the original version, though; the one that shocked the art world in 1884 when it was shown at the Paris Salon.

Above is a sketch for the Gautreau portrait. At some point Sargent decided to paint the right strap of her dress seductively off her shoulder. When the portrait was shown in Paris, there was an uproar of disapproval. Madame Gautreau was, apparently, already rumored to be an adultress. Her Singer portrait only added emphasis to the public's criticism of her character. According to the gallery card at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (the painting was on loan from the MET), Gautreau very much liked the painting. What neither she nor Sargent predicted was that it would cause such a stir and be the cause of much conversation, mostly derisive, in the drawing rooms of Paris high society.

Sargent was so upset by the reaction at the Salon and the ensuing buzz that he took the painting back to his studio and repainted the strap in its proper place on the shoulder.

The painting was eventually sold on the condition that its subject not be revealed in the title. It was to be called Madame X.

Sources:

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Arty: Why Madame X Scandalized the Art World by Alina Cohen

[higherentity]

[art1for2the3masses]

John Singer Sargent, Madame Gautreau, 1884

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau.

[chatrosetta]

Madame Gautreau drinking a toast

[kus3m0n0]

[7pleiades7]

Madame X Madame Pierre Gautreau [Virginie Amélie Avegnol), 1883-84

Oil on canvas

The Louisiana-born wife of a French banker, Amélie Gautreau was admired in Parisian social circles for her arresting appearance, which she enhanced with striking gowns and a rigorous cosmetic regimen. The designer of this splendid satin and velvet dress has not been firmly established, although Mme Gautreau often patronized Maison Félix. One of the most prestigious Parisian rivals to Worth, Félix was admired for slim-fitting gowns and favored by celebrities like Sarah Bernhardt. But what worked for an actress brought Amélie Gautreau's downfall.

Sargent convinced her to pose for a portrait, saying he would make it be "an homage to her beauty." She had been compared to a classical statue, and together, Sargent and his sitter confected a portrait that showed off her figure in a pose reminiscent of ancient sculpture. She called it a masterpiece. But when it was displayed at the Paris Salon in 1884, in its original state with one diamond strap falling from her shoulder, the painting was ridiculed, described as indecent and a sensational, vulgar attempt to garner attention.

A fashion faux pas became a potent symbol of upstart Americans who threatened to topple long-standing national hierarchies of fashion, society, and identity.

[cigarette-junky]

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau

[byneddiedingo]

 justineportraits

John Singer Sargent,  Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)  1884

[theblackcat5679]

Number 29 on my Queer Icons Pride Project is Artist John Singer Sargent Sargent was born 1856 in Florence, was an American artist considered the leading portrait painter of his generation. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings.  He was trained in Paris before moving to London, living most of his life in Europe. He enjoyed international acclaim as a portrait painter. An early submission to the Paris Salon in the 1880s, his Portrait of Madame X, was intended to consolidate his position as a society painter in Paris, but instead resulted in scandal. During the next year following the scandal, Sargent departed for England where he continued a successful career as a portrait artist. From the beginning, Sargent's work is characterized by remarkable technical facility, particularly in his ability to draw with a brush, which in later years inspired admiration as well as criticism for a supposed superficiality. His commissioned works were consistent with the grand manner of portraiture, while his informal studies and landscape paintings displayed a familiarity with Impressionism. In later life Sargent expressed ambivalence about the restrictions of formal portrait work, and devoted much of his energy to  mural  painting. Sargent was a lifelong bachelor with a wide circle of friends including both men and women such as Oscar Wilde, whom he was neighbors with for several years. Biographers once portrayed him as staid and reticent. However, recent scholarship has speculated that he was a homosexual man, as he had devoted significant time to renderings of nude male figure studies. This view is based on statements by his friends and associations. Sargent influences me as an artist, I personally love that he would choose a section, typically the face and fully render it, and then give the illusion to the rest. Madame X is my personal favoritw. Along with the controversy surrounding her, the painting is simple, yet complex, it doesn't need anything extra, it's just Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau and an end table, nothing more is needed. #johnsingersargent #madamex #artist #painting #pride2022 (at Turlock, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfY32pXL8l1/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectlyfullcreator]

Madame X(1883-84) - John Singer Sargent

locație: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan.

mișcare: realism.

Madame Pierre Gautreau (Virginie Amélie Avegno, născută în Louisiana; 1859–1915) era cunoscută în Paris pentru înfățișarea sa artistică. Sargent spera să-și sporească reputația pictându-i și expunându-i, așadar, portretul. Totodată, această creație a fost realizată nu ca o comandă, ci la cererea pictorului. El a făcut de așa manieră încât să-i sublinieze stilul personal, îndrăzneț, evidențiindu-i breteaua dreaptă a rochiei alunecând de pe umăr. 

În anul 1884, portretul este publicat la Salon, fiind întâmpinat de mai multă critică decât de laudă. Sargent, după cele întâmplate, se hotărăște să-i repicteze breteaua și îl păstrează timp de peste treizeci de ani. La final, această pictură ajunge să fie vândută Muzeului Metropolitan, Sargent subliniind următoare idee: ”Presupun că este cel mai bun lucru pe care l-am realizat.”, cerând mai apoi ca numele persoanei să fie deghizat. 

[mordicaifeed]

“Madame X” by John Singer Sargent. The original painting showed the subject with the dress straps off her shoulders (seen in this sketch.) This was repainted by Sargent following the outcry.

[kecobe]

Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast John Singer Sargent (American; 1856–1925) 1882–3 Oil on panel Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts

[vanmatre]

John Singer Sargent

Study of Mme Gautreau

c.1884

[justineportraits]

John Singer Sargent       Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)  1884

[curseofmxcbeth]

What’s the name of the paintings in your uquizz? Im uncultured but they’re so pretty

thanks for asking! and you aren't uncultured anon you just don't know this one specific piece of info.

the paintings are...

(I included the images so I added a keep reading tab)

^ not sure of the specific name but this is one of the Ballet Dancers by Konstantin Razumov

^ this smashing painting is by Auguste Toulmouche and called Vanity.

^ Last Call by Ron Hicks

^ this is a work called Madame x-ray by Maria Marfia

Its a modern painting based off this 1880s work madame x by John Singer Sargent of young socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau

^ this is a super interesting painting with a cool and chaotic history that I recommend you check out.

^ Summer by Frank Weston Benson. I have a slightly cropped image of the og painting.

^ This is death of Sappho by Miguel Carbonell Selva

The paintings I left off are the ones I found on pinterest and included cause they look cool, and i have 0 knowledge of them

[sgrstk]

Nothing is permanent. With time, everything can change. The silly shit that stressed you out five years ago is no longer important. That breakup you thought would be the end of you quickly became old news. And, that embarrassing Instagram story from last week will soon be forgotten. Relax. The more power you give a moment in time, the longer it will haunt you. In 1884, French art lovers came in droves to see John Singer Sargent’s latest masterpiece — because the subject of this particular painting was just as popular as Sargent himself: Sargent had asked the beautiful Amélie Gautreau to pose for him. In her early twenties at the time, Amélie was a well-known socialite and Parisian fashion icon. So, naturally, her reputation (as well as Sargent’s) was riding on the release of this freshly finished canvas entitled “Portrait de Mme ***.” The debut was an utter fucking disaster. The painting was met with ridicule and repulsion, leaving both parties horrified and humiliated. Basically, everybody thought Amélie looked trashy because her dress strap was hanging off her shoulder. (Who would have thought a little black dress could cause so much distress? “Oh my God, Becky, lookest at her strap.”) Attempting some quick reputation repair, Sargent repainted and repositioned the salacious strap, but it was too late. Amélie felt destroyed and went into hiding, effectively retiring from society. She lived the remainder of her life as a hermitess, going so far as to remove all the mirrors in her home. In 1915, she died in obscurity, one year before her beauty would receive worldwide recognition when the now renamed “Portrait of Madame X” was purchased by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (where I took this picture). Regarded as Sargent’s greatest work of art, this portrait served as fashion inspiration for many designers of the early 1900s, making Amélie’s once trashy gown the talk of the town — sucks she wasn’t around to see it.

Well, you just learned some fucking history. You’re welcome. Now, the next time you don’t think you’ll get through some shit, don’t fucking lose it — put on your favorite dress (you too, dudes) and fucking work it. #SUNDAYSCHOOL