What did Sargent do after the scandal?

Repainted the strap on her shoulder

What did Sargent say about it when selling?

It was perhaps the best thing he had done

Madame X Quiz: John Singer Sargent's Scandalous Paris Portrait

This Madame X quiz revisits the portrait that shocked Paris and changed John Singer Sargent's career. Play 10 interactive questions on the American-born socialite Virginie Gautreau, her black gown and pale skin, the shoulder strap that slipped, the uproar at the 1884 Salon, the repainted strap, Sargent's move to London and the painting's sale to the Met.

Start Madame X Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Artist
Who painted Madame X?
Year
At which Salon was Madame X shown?
Sitter
Who was the sitter?
Dress
What color is her gown?
Strap
Which detail caused outrage?
Fix
What did Sargent do after the scandal?
Move
Where did Sargent move after the scandal?
Name
Why is the painting called Madame X?
Museum
Which museum bought it in 1916?
Quote
What did Sargent say about it when selling?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Who painted Madame X?
Answer: John Singer Sargent
He was an American portraitist.
Q2: At which Salon was Madame X shown?
Answer: 1884
It was in Paris.
Q3: Who was the sitter?
Answer: Virginie Gautreau
She was an American-born Paris socialite.
Q4: What color is her gown?
Answer: Black
Her skin looks strikingly pale.
Q5: Which detail caused outrage?
Answer: A shoulder strap slipping down
It seemed too daring then.
Q6: What did Sargent do after the scandal?
Answer: Repainted the strap on her shoulder
The original version was lost.
Q7: Where did Sargent move after the scandal?
Answer: London
He thrived there as a portraitist.
Q8: Why is the painting called Madame X?
Answer: To hide the sitter's identity
The title kept her anonymous.
Q9: Which museum bought it in 1916?
Answer: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Sargent sold it himself.
Q10: What did Sargent say about it when selling?
Answer: It was perhaps the best thing he had done
He kept it for decades.

The Portrait That Shocked Paris

John Singer Sargent, an American artist working in Paris, painted Virginie Gautreau, an American-born socialite famous for her beauty and pale skin. He showed her in a black gown with a deep neckline, standing in profile at a table.

At the 1884 Paris Salon the portrait caused a scandal. One jeweled strap had slipped off her shoulder, which critics found too daring, and her family was upset. Sargent repainted the strap in place and titled the work Madame X to hide her identity.

The uproar hurt his career in Paris, and he moved to London, where he became a leading portraitist. He kept the painting for decades and in 1916 sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, calling it perhaps the best thing he had done.

What This Quiz Teaches

Art fans will enjoy these questions.

Who painted it
Who the sitter was
Why it was shocking
How Sargent changed it
Where it is now

Did You Know?

An unfinished version is at the Tate.
Her skin was powdered with lavender tones.
Sargent painted many society women.
He also painted watercolors.
The profile pose is dramatic.