Creator story
Surprising fact
Madame X caused such scandal in 1884 Paris — over a slipped strap — that Sargent repainted it and left for London; he later called it his best work.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaRealism
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was the most dazzling portraitist of the Gilded Age, capturing high society with bravura brushwork and effortless elegance. His scandalous Madame X is now a celebrated masterpiece.
Sargent defined the look of an era; his fluid, confident brush remains a touchstone for portrait painters.
- The leading society portraitist of the Gilded Age on both sides of the Atlantic.
- His Madame X scandalised Paris and pushed him to move to London.
- Famed for bravura brushwork and the shimmer of silk and skin.
Key works
A key work by John Singer Sargent
These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.
1884
Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)
Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau) condenses the core ideas of realism into a memorable painted image.