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

you probably recognize this painting right i mean it's super famous this piece is oh wait hold on something's not quite right i just need to adjust something here all right that's better sorry about that wait what this piece is called madame x by john singer sergeant 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 but why what is it about this painting that caused so many problems it all starts with the sitter virginia amelie aveno born in louisiana to creole parents her father died in the civil war and after taking out loans to pay for their family plantation her mother decided enough was enough and moved with her daughter to paris with the civil war and the rest of their struggles behind them you may think they felt relief but emily was brought to paris to be married and that she did she married pierre gotreau a wealthy banker twice her age she was considered a professional beauty or someone who used their looks to progress through the ranks in society she was striking and had many admirers american expatriate edward simmons wrote i remember seeing her the noted beauty of the day and could not help stalking her as one does a deer her head and neck undulated like that of a young doe every artist wanted to make her in marble or paint ew even with this recognition gotro struggled to make it into the upper echelon of parisian society tabloids took minimal notice of her and her status as a creole woman held her back still she and her mother were determined to get her name out there virginia evenio gautreaux was known from afar for her hourglass figure alabaster skin elegance and style from the outside it seemed like she had it all but she always wanted more she desired love and excitement things that her husband simply couldn't give her as a result she was known to engage in extramarital affairs one of her affairs was with dr potsi a gynecologist who sergeant created a portrait of as well gotra was no stranger to modeling and had many paintings done of her throughout her life sergeant likely met her around 1882 and was determined to have her sit for one of his portraits not for a commission but so he could display it at the upcoming paris salon he knew that a portrait of the socialite would garner much attention and hope for a subsequent career boost virginia eventually agreed they had a lot in common after all they were both expatriates in their 20s trying to climb the social ranks but sergeant had no idea what he was getting himself into gotro quickly became disillusioned by the idea of sitting for long periods of time between her conflicting social engagements tending to her daughter and responding to her full domestic staff she grew weary and distracted by the process sergeant described her in his writings the unpaintable beauty and hopeless laziness of madame gautreau although once he completed it the painting turned out stunning gotro leans against a table with her right hand body facing forward and her head to the side a pose that is present and assertive yet absent at the same time she poses in a black satin dress with jeweled straps her cinch waist draws the eye down to her hand holding a black fan that almost disappears into her dress a flash of white comes from her fourth finger hinting at a wedding ring her pale skin contrasts with the dark brown almost fluffy looking background the lavender powder on her skin is absent from her ear making it quite pink as if to reveal a piece of her hiding beneath her superficial persona her hairstyle is based on one of ancient greece the small tiara on her head in the shape of a crescent moon represents diana the roman goddess of the hunt sergeant chose to protect gotro's identity and didn't use her name but instead titled the painting portrait of madame dot dot dot by the time the portrait was completed and hanging in the paris salon in 1884 people knew without a doubt that it was virginie avenyo gotro and they were furious it was said that if you approached the piece at the art expedition you would hear every curse word in the book but why let me see where do i start the pose was considered sensual and aloof her neckline too low revealing far too much skin her complexion was so ghostly that many speculated she was ingesting arsenic to lighten it worst of all the initial portrait showed gotro's strap falling off her shoulder tipping this painting into scandal territory this is a photograph of sergeant's first attempt at the portrait it really was the combination of the wedding ring and the bare shoulder that made this portrait too hot to handle my goodness how could a married woman give off such sensuality yeah after talks with gotro's hysterical mother sergeant repainted the strap to fit snugly on her shoulder unfortunately the damage was already done at this point the times wrote about this portrait sergeant is below his usual standard this year the pose of the figure is absurd and the bluish coloring atrocious the features are so exaggerated that the natural delicacy of outline is entirely lost under sergeant's brush the so-called beautiful subject looks like a mere caricature basically this painting cemented virginie avigno gotro's reputation as a loose woman and john singer sergeant was the painter of a loose woman which apparently was almost just as bad in the aftermath madame gotro remained in france although many of her high-profile friends abandoned her she had a couple more portraits commissioned that didn't cause near the stir of sergeants even though one of them was strikingly similar in style and pose as she grew older she lived apart from her husband and it's not fully known what became of her she died in 1915 in cannes france at the age of 56. sergeant kept the portrait in his paris studio and then brought it with him to london where he fled after the scandal he had a successful career later in his life in britain and america but never dared to make anything quite as bold again in 1916 he sold the infamous painting to the metropolitan museum of art asking them to maintain the anonymity of the woman and by this time he changed the title to madame x he left it saying i suppose it's the best thing i have ever done so maybe it's actually wrong to say that this painting didn't succeed in time this is arguably his most famous masterpiece instead maybe sergeant just happened to create madame x in a world that wasn't quite ready for it yet thank you for watching i'll see you in the next video [Music] you

Channel: Art Deco

Views: 7,703,487

Keywords: madame x, John singer sargent, portrait of madame x, art, art history, interesting facts, #famous art, French, france, painting, portrait, explained, all about, 19th century, 1800, controversial, Paris, best, most, top, story, Virginie Gautreau, virginie Avegno Gautreau, madame x painting, deep dive, interesting, famous painting, sargent, singer sargent, realism, american, impressionism, strapless, modern art, art gallery, explain, metropolitan museum of art, art criticism, museum, gallery, famous

Id: bGtVMh7PY40

Length: 8min 0sec (480 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 20 2022