Today we explore the mystery behind John Singer Sargent's enigmatic "Portrait of Madame X."
Who was this mystery woman?

Why did Sargent paint her?

Why did he keep her identity a secret?



Sources:

Articles: 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/12127 

1884 – John Singer Sargent, Madame X (Virginie Gautreau) | Fashion History Timeline (fitnyc.edu)

Olympia, One of the Most Scandalous Paintings of the 19th Century (singulart.com)

Portrait of a Ladies’ Man: Dr Samuel-Jean Pozzi | History Today

Sidlauskas, S. (2001). Painting Skin: John Singer Sargent’s “Madame X.” American Art, 15(3), 9–33. https://doi.org/10.1086/444645

Books:

Lucey, D. M. (2018). Sargent’s Women: Four Lives Behind the Canvas (Illustrated ed.). W. W. Norton & Company.

Strapless by Deborah Davis (2004–05-03). (2021). TarcherPerigee.

Simpson, M., Sargent, J. S., Ormond, R., Weinberg, B. H., & Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. (1997). Uncanny Spectacle: The Public Career of the Young John Singer Sargent (1st edition, paperback issue, ed.). Clark Art Inst.

Websites:

www.britannica.com 

www.metmuseum.org 

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