![]() What sort of woman was this ? The portrait was "a scandal" which filled the news. But when confronted by 'Mme.***', the cry was, "O! quel horreur!!!". ![]() The crowd at the exhibition cast their eyes over numerous pictures of naked 'slave girls', and unclothed 'concubines' without apparent disapproval. Sargent made Mme.Gautreau a 'star' before the word had been invented. Sargent's brilliant depiction of the twist in Mme.Gautreau's right arm to display the inside of her elbow, is an almost overt invitation -and a masterstroke by the artist. Mme.Gautreau is irresistibly commanding in her allure. Eroticism is everywhere: in the assertive angle of the head and torso, the blood-red lips, the tight black dress, and in the thick white geisha-like make-up covering her flesh (except for the glowing ear!) ![]() ![]() The information related here about Mme.Gautreau, the wife of a banker, is surprising, and the extraordinary story of this picture has things to say about celebrity, and about the double-standards with which people sometimes look at pictures.Īt the Paris Salon in 1884, Sargent's portrait of Mme.Gautreau (labelled 'Portrait of Mme.***') caused a storm, because of the way Sargent so frankly indicated the eroticism in the lady's startling beauty. An engaging description of the evolution of a memorable portrait and the two people involved: the brilliant young artist J.S.Sargent, and the beautiful woman he invited to pose for him, Mme.Gautreau, 'Mme.X'. ![]()
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