Explore the Aftermath of this artwork, Portrait of Madame X.
Sargent was severely disappointed by the public reaction to Madame X. Ralph Curtis wrote of Sanger's reaction on the day of the exhibition's opening, "John, poor boy, was navré [heartbroken]." Gautreau, too, was distressed: "Mde. Gautreau and mère [mother] came to his studio 'bathed in tears.'" Gautreau's mother requested that Sargent withdraw the painting from the exhibition. Sargent refused, saying he had painted her "exactly as she was dressed, that nothing could be said of the canvas worse than had been said in print of her appearance". Later, Sargent overpainted the shoulder strap to raise it up and make it look more securely fastened. An unfinished version of the same pose, in which the position of the right shoulder strap remained unresolved, is in the Tate, London.Sargent hung Madame X first in his Paris studio, and later in his studio in London. Starting in 1905, he displayed it in a number of international exhibitions.Seven years after Sargent painted Madame Gautreau, Gustave Courtois painted her. As in the earlier painting, the portrait shows her face in profile. She wears the same style of dress, with Courtois's portrait showing a bit more skin. The strap of her dress hangs off her shoulder much as it had in Sargent's portrait. This time, however, the portrait was well received by the public. In 1897 Gautreau posed yet again for a standing portrait, for what would be her favorite version, by Antonio de La Gándara.: 20 In 1916, Sargent sold the painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, writing to its director "I suppose it is the best thing I have ever done." The art world's changing response to the portrait was noted by the New York Herald in its May 12, 1916 headline: "Sargent Masterpiece Rejected by Subject Now Acquired by Museum." In 1960, Cuban-American fashion designer Luis Estévez created a dress based on the dress depicted in Madame X. Dina Merrill modeled the Estévez dress for photographer Milton H. Greene published in Life magazine on 11 January 1960.The 1980s saw a renewed interest in Sargent's work. Today, Portrait of Madame X is Sargent's best-known work.
Sargent right Tate Antonio de La Gándara Luis Estévez Dina Merrill New York Herald Milton H. Greene Gustave Courtois Madame X overpainted Metropolitan Museum of Art