13 Feb Scandals and Secrets of Art Museums
Posted at 20:31h in art history, courtesans, Metropolitan Museum, museum of fine arts, philadelphia museum of art, Women's History
The world's museums are full of scandals and secrets. John Singer Sargent's portrait of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, known simply as Madame X, is a great example. When it 
was unveiled at the 1884 Paris Salon, it caused such a scandal that Sargent's career was almost destroyed. Who after all would want to hire a portrait-painter who caused scandals at the Salon? It was also damaging, of course, for Gautreau's reputation as a society beauty. Her family begged Sargent to withdraw the painting from the Salon, but he refused. After the Salon, however, he repainted the detail that had caused the biggest scandal.