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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?
How typically hypocritical of the French who were, after all, unofficial sponsors of the ‘Naughty Nineties’ and the decadent artistic culture of the fin de siecle.
Maybe they couldn’t stand having an American beat them at their own game 😉
I know; I thought that was odd too.
I didn’t know about the second one with the loose strap. I saw the original several times and had a jolly good drool over it. I agree with your comments.