The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has brought back one of the world's most scandalous paintings. John Singer Sargent’s iconic 1884 portrait “Madame X” is part of the new exhibit at the Met titled "Sargent and Paris." It will remain open to visitors through August 3.

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"Madame X" shows a young woman dressed in a black dress. The painting is extremely popular but wasn't at the Met for two years. Stephanie L. Herdrich, curator of American painting and drawing at the Met, told The New York Post that its absence upset people. 

Herdrich says that Madame X wasn't always as popular. It created quite a stir, being labelled “immodest,” “indecent,” and “vulgar" on its debut. Met says that a critic called it “the worst, most ridiculous, and most insulting portrait of the year”.

What made “Madame X” so controversial?

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“Madame X” was based on a well-known socialite, Virginie Amélie Gautreau. She was a 25-year-old American-born socialite from a wealthy Creole family in New Orleans who moved to Paris as a child.

In her younger years, she grabbed eyeballs with her bold style and personality. She married a wealthy businessman twice her age when she was just 19.  The media loved her and followed everything she did. Gautreau wore "glamorous, often low-cut dresses, dyed her hair, rouged her ears", Herdrich said.

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However, things went awry when she agreed to pose for Sargent. The painter tried to get her to agree for the longest time. But she made things tough for him, and when she finally said yes, it again led to problems. Gautreau invited Sargent to her summer home for the painting. But she was restless all the time, and Sargent is believed to have said,  “I am struggling with the unpaintable beauty and hopeless laziness of Mme. G.”

"Madame XXX" painting shocked onlookers

The painting titled “Madame XXX" debuted at the 1884 Paris Salon where it shocked people. The madame’s fallen shoulder strap and her bold pose create quite a stir. Some even linked the fallen shoulder strap to a supposed secret affair.

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That night, her mother angrily visited Sargent’s studio and demanded that he pull the painting, otherwise her daughter would “die of despair.” The Salon continued with the painting on display, after which he re-painted it with an upright shoulder strap. 

However, the episode ruined Sargent’s reputation and women no longer wanted to pose for him. He started working from London and the US. Meanwhile, Gautreau got over the hit her reputation had taken and went on to pose for other artists after separating from her husband.

She died in 1915 at age 56, and the following year, Sargent sold the painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, asking it to be retitled “Madame X.” He never rued painting the Madame, calling it "the best thing I’ve done."