1879 -1905 · Worldly portrait, identity and modern scandal

Behind the social title "Madame", Sargent distinguishes each model by pose, look and clothing - to the point of making Madame X a more famous portrait than the erased name.

Female portraits of John Singer Sargent often bear the marital name or the formula "Madame", in accordance with social customs of the end of the 19th century. This convention can mask a biography, an activity and a personality of its own. Madame Paul Poirson, Madame Escudier, Madame Allouard-Jouan or Marie Buloz Pailleron belong to different artistic and bourgeois circles, to which Sargent adapts format, decor and degree of formality. The case of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau is emblematic. Presented at the Salon of 1884 under the title Portrait of Madame ***, then known as Madame X, her black dress, her pale profile and her tense pose caused a scandal which pushed Sargent towards London. Madame Gautreau's studies, including the one where she toasts, show a more mobile and less hieratic relationship. Bringing these works together allows us to go beyond elegance alone: the painter negotiates between desire for the model, social expectations, reputation and pictorial autonomy. The selection "Madame by John Singer Sargent" notably compares Portrait of Madame Paul Poirson and Madame X. Its reading favors figures.

The word "Madame" indicates a social rank; Sargent uses the pose to show everything that this title can neither summarize nor control.