# Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau)

**John Singer Sargent** (American, 1856–1925)  
1883–84  
Oil on canvas  
82 1/8 × 43 1/4 in. (208.6 × 109.9 cm) Framed: 95 3/4 × 56 5/8 × 5 in. (243.2 × 143.8 × 12.7 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 16.53. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/12127).

## About this work

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, an American-born beauty married to a French banker, stands in profile in a sleek black satin gown, one hand resting on a table, her skin powdered to a pale lavender. Sargent, then an ambitious young portraitist in Paris, painted her, and when the portrait was shown at the Salon of 1884 it caused a scandal: one jewelled strap had originally slipped from her shoulder, and the pose was thought brazen. Sargent repainted the strap, but the episode hastened his move to London. He kept it for more than thirty years before selling it to the Met in 1916, calling it the best thing he had done.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

John Singer Sargent painted this in 1883–84, aged about 27. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [John Singer Sargent](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/john-singer-sargent)

American, 1856–1925; born in Florence; died in London

Sargent was born in Florence to American parents and grew up travelling across Europe. He trained in Paris under Carolus-Duran, and the scandal over his portrait Madame X at the 1884 Salon prompted his move to London, where he became the most sought-after society portraitist on both sides of the Atlantic. Around 1907 he largely gave up portrait commissions for watercolours made on his travels and for the murals he painted for the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: American
- The artist was about 27
- Real size: about 82 × 43 in (209 × 110 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Realism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/realism)
- Subjects: Portraits, Profiles, Women
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/853.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/853/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/madame-x-virginie-amelie-avegno-gautreau-met-12127).