Category Archives: portrait

Which is the real Madame X?

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Which of these two images is the real Madame X painted by John Sargent?

As I learned yesterday at Lisa’a History Room, they both are. Sort of.

If you though the one on the left was the Sargent’s Madame X, congratulations–you’ve been to the Met, where that version of the painting is hanging. The image on the right was made to represent Sargent’s original Madame. Sargent first painted the infamous Madame X with one strap dangling off her shoulder. The outcry in France over the fallen strap was such that Madame X’s mother demanded Sargent remove it from the salon. To appease the public, Sargent painted this second version with both straps firmly in place. The whole risque fiasco ended with Sergent moving to England because of the disapproval of Parisian society.

Who knew there was such a story in a little strap?

A Nude Mona Lisa?

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Via the Discovery channel, “Leonardo da Vinci, in a Renaissance version of Mad Magazine, may have painted his famous Mona Lisa in a number of ways, including nude. Now, a painting has surfaced that looks much like the original, sparking debate over just how far the master took his iconic painting.

The newly revealed painting, hidden for almost a century within the wood wall of a private library, shows a portrait of a half-naked woman with clear links to the famous (and clothed) Mona Lisa. The work, which documents suggest was at least based on never-seen similar work by Da Vinci, is now on exhibit at the Museo Ideale in the Tuscan town of Vinci, where Da Vinci was born in 1452. The lady in the portrait does not exactly resemble the original Mona Lisa, but there is little doubt it has parallels with the painting hanging at the Louvre museum in Paris.”

While it’s not likely to have been painted by Leonardo, evidence suggests it may be a copy of his work. Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa between 1503-1506. This manner of protraying the female nude is not typical for the time. Although Renaissance painters were rediscovering the human body and looking back to Greek and Roman sculpture, their nude creations were ideal forms representing gods or virtues. This is a woman, rather than a reclining Venus or a weak, defenseless Eve. And she’s looking looking straight at you. How bold.

Maybe that’s what she was smiling about.

Shakespeare, that Beautiful Bard

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You think I have a twisted point of view? Because I called the bard a looker?

Perhaps I was unduly influenced by his sonnets to the Dark Lady, you know:

‘My Shakespeare’s eyes are nothing like the sun; / Coral is far more red than his lips’ red; / If snow be white, why then his chest be dun; / If hairs be wires, black wires no longer grow on his head.’

We’ve all seen the engravings of the balding, scruffy poet…but only recently has a new portrait of the bard emerged and been authenticated.

Voila!

Ooo la la, my aren’t we the handsome lad? Aged 46 at the time it was painted, here Shakespeare still has a youthful bloom to his cheek. Not to mention some fine duds. The Guardian reveals:

“New research revealed yesterday contends that the only portrait of
Shakespeare painted in his lifetime has been found. Debates about the real image of Shakespeare often get mired in complicated, art historical detail, but
Professor Stanley Wells, one of the world’s leading Shakespeare experts,
announced in London he was 90% certain the portrait is that of the
playwright.

Also, the story of the painting – known as the Cobbe portrait – once again raises questions about Shakespeare’s sexuality. Was he more than just good friends with the man who commissioned the painting, his patron the Earl of Southampton?”