Madame X: A Scandal

John Singer Sargent - Madame Pierre Gautreau (Madame X) - 1884 - Oil on canvas 82 1/2 x 43 1/4 in - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (click photo for larger image)“Madame X” or “Portrait of Madame X” by John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is the informal title of this portrait of a young socialite named Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, wife of Pierre Gautreau. Virginie (1859–1915) was of European Creole ancestry (born in New Orleans), and taken at the age of eight by her widowed mother to France in 1867, following the American Civil War. She was educated in Paris and married Pierre Gautreau, a wealthy businessman. She became a Parisian socialite, known for her beauty. She occasionally posed as a model for notable artists. This portrait created a social scandal when shown at the Paris Salon. Such a high-class woman would not usually be a model—and particularly if she was married. The scandal caused Pierre Gautreau to retire for some time from society. Initially, one of the straps on Virginie’s gown was off her arm. It was so shocking, however, that Sargent changed it.