This Iconic Painting Destroyed Her Life. Here's Why.

This piece is called Madame X by John Singer Sargent. This portrait was the painter’s attempt at making a name for himself. But what seemed like an opportunistic move led John Singer Sargent to flee the country and destroyed the model’s reputation forever. The sitter is Virginie Avegno Gautreau. She outraged Paris when she posed for a portrait that showed her strap falling off her shoulder. In the late 19th century, this was not something a married woman did. Thanks for watching!

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Credits:
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[mach]

Imagine getting this mad about a painting of a woman, to the point that you say she's ingesting arsenic to change her skin colour. It's a painting, he could literally paint her skin blue, doesn't mean she choked herself to pose for it.

[someoneslove]

I like the version with the strap off the shoulder better. She looks tired to me, and the loose strap underlines it even more, in my eyes. The painting looks like a moment of quiet and aloneness during a social event (even if fun, very exhausting), a moment where, for the briefest of times, you forget that people are always looking at you, observing you, criticizing you maybe. A moment where you forget to be presentable and perfect and just let the strap stay loose for a while, before you pull it back on your shoulder, straighten your back and join the others again with a smile.

[ggsilik]

note to anyone of talent: if you have a piece of art that is HATED by Parisian society (be it this piece, Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", or Wagner's "Tannhauser"), you have created a masterpiece that will outlive any bourgeois.

[heatherduke]

You called her dress satin, but what has always struck me about this painting is how you can immediately tell that her bodice is velvet contrasting with the satin of the skirt. Sargent was a master of light

[jasonbourne]

"The pose of the figure is absurd."

Literally a woman standing.

[chrissergeant]

I like the original fallen strap version better. I think Sargent was a great painter. I remember as a kid one rainy, lazy summer afternoon, paging through some glossy big coffee table art books in my grandparent's house, and turning the page to this. "What!" It awakened in me a love of women that continues to this day.

[chazdesimone]

As a graphic designer, I feel the original strap off the shoulder was a beneficial component to the composition; everything flowed to the left, while her head pointed opposite. Adjusting the strap upright broke that flow, looks unnatural, and ruined the piece.

[samshM]

The strap slipping at the shoulder was magnificent. The VERY essence of a portrait is to have some kind of movement or kinetic energy. And the strap gave that energy and flow which the society then was too foolish to acknowledge.

[nopeninja]

It’s amazing how classy a woman dressed like this would be considered today. Reminds me of Marilyn Monroe with how scandalously dressed she was considered in her day and age but it would look refined and classy today.

[bodeaalex]

It did not destroyed her life. She retreated from society for a while but made a comeback and carried on as before. He was more impacted. He moved to London and have to found new patrons there. But it worked out for him as well, in the end.

[schmetterling]

I find it fascinating that the top of the dress and the pose are so modern that to this day stars and starlets are using it to dazzle on the red carpet. The artist and the model created something really timeless here.

[mamapetillo]

I adore this painting!
It’s not hard to see why she would have been considered a beauty. Her neck alone is remarkable. There are different standards of beauty in every age, but somethings are ageless.
Grace is one.
And Sargent certainly evoked that in this painting.

[ETBrenner]

Y'know, I had always thought that shoulder strap and its attachment to the bodice didn't quite sit correctly from a clothing-construction standpoint - and now I understand why! I can see now that Sargent originally portrayed that side of the bodice as being pulled ever so slightly downward by the weight of the fallen strap. He apparently decided to just leave the bodice be when he repainted the strap onto the model's shoulder - which decision makes perfect sense as probably only clothing-fussbudgets like me might notice the neckline seems a little asymmetrical for the era. 😀 Thanks for the history!

[dawncheriewoodworth]

I, personally, loved the strap down version. For those of you who have never worn an evening gown, sometimes the straps do fall down. It looked more natural strap down. But to say such horrid things about this painting is atrocious! Okay, so she isn't classically posed. She's real! She's believable in this gorgeous pose. When I look at this painting she looks to be at some kind of party, maybe not knowing very many people, and standing out of the way, a wall flower. The turn of the head is her overhearing an interesting conversation or a familiar voice in the crowd. She's simply stunning in this painting. Sargent was a master in my mind. This being his best work. He saw her beauty just simply as she was. A lot of women could very well fantasize about being painted so naturally and genuinely. Such beauty is beyond reproach.

[michellebyrom]

It was done 20 years after Manets Olympia. The scandals from both are reflections of bourgeoise society in Paris at that time. Both paintings display artistic brilliance. I've seen Olympia, it's captivating and exudes confidence - in opposition to the demure demeanor demanded of women then. Madame X also has a confident pose. Personally, I think the original off shoulder strap made for a better painting. Maybe one day I'll see that one too.

[audreyguo]

It's really sad that such a beautiful painting of her destroyed her entire life

[BabaCorva]

I love that he described her as lazy because she had so many things to attend to beyond merely sitting for his painting. Running a household, attending her kid, AND meeting the demands of an upper class Parisian social life? What an absolute slacker.

(But also, this painting is breathtaking. I'm poking fun at the artist's no doubt time-appropriate misogyny but that doesn't diminish his work)

[savannahmurillo]

i had to repaint this piece with ink for one of my art classes this past semester. personally i find it to be one of the most beautiful and sleek pieces i’ve ever seen. didn’t know there was such a story behind it!

[DrawingsOfNamine]

The original one is beautiful. I like it more. It feels like she's just slightly exhausted and non-caring about what anyone thinks of her at the time.
They said she was tired with all the work that she had to do and this makes me feel like it emphasis on it.
On the outside, a stunning woman with elegance but you could see she's slipping holding her priorities tirelessly.

[Idkanameimjust]

"the pose is too absurd"
"It's scandalous"
"Too sexual"
"Too hot"

the painting: A woman with clothes standing with a table