Who Was John Singer Sargent’s Parisian Muse Madame X?

Anne Hathaway Reborn in Vogue US August at Metropolitan Museum of Art AOC Fashion

American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent's officially titled "Portrait of Madame X," is one of the most renowned and scandalous artworks of the 19th century. Painted in 1884, it captures the striking visage of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, a Parisian socialite known for her unconventional beauty and daring fashion sense. Sargent was gaining a reputation in Europe for his exquisite portraits and sought to capture Gautreau to showcase his artistic prowess.

The painting ‘Madame X’ appears in American Vogue’s August 2025 cover story featuring Anne Hathaway. Shot by Annie Leibovitz [IG], the all-Givenchy fashion story honors Sarah Burton’s first collection as the new creative director. Stylist Tabitha Simmons mentioned that in the image of Hathaway standing near ‘Madame X’ at the Metropolitan Museum, the loose strap on her Givenchy ensemble was attached to the history of the mysterious American.

The Real American Story Is Creole

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The minute AOC read the word ‘Creole’ to describe the ancestry of Sargent’s muse, Anne stopped to consider Madame Gautreau’s background within the context of new Pope Leo XIV’s own lineage.

Several articles about the new American Pope Leo’s family history, as researched by the New York Times in May and June 2025, reveal the new pontiff to be a reflection of the larger, global human community that has defined America since the founding of the nation.

Alexis de Tocqueville Was Fascinated by America’s Creole Society

When the renowned French sociologist and political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville embarked on a journey through the United States in the early 19th century, he encountered the unique and vibrant Creole society of Louisiana.

Tocqueville's observations extended to the complex social hierarchies and racial dynamics of Creole society. The interplay between free Creoles of color, enslaved individuals, and European-descended Creoles offered insights into the multifaceted and often contradictory nature of identity and status within this community. Tocqueville's reflections on Louisiana's Creole society captured his fascination with how diverse cultural influences could coexist and thrive within the American landscape.

By definition, Louisiana’s Creole Society was divided into three distinct socioeconomic categories. We will pursue that important history in a separate post.

Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, known as Madame X, would understand Pope Leo’s ancestry — even if she considered herself to be higher on the social ladder in Louisiana and most certainly in Paris.

The Louisiana Creole World of Madame Gautreau

Creole Women of Color Watercolor by Edouard Marquis New Orleans- 1867. Alamy.

Originally from Louisiana, Virginie Amélie Avegno was the daughter of a successful Creole family. Her father was Major Anatole Placide Avengo, a Confederate army soldier in America’s Civil War and her mother was Marie Virginie de Ternant.

The family lived at Parlange Plantation, built a century earlier by Claude Vincent de Ternant, on the banks of the False River and his wife [Gautreau’s grandmother Virginie de Ternant Parlange.]

Virginie’s paternal lineage began with Dominico Avegno, an Italian immigrant who journeyed to the United States in the mid-1800s. Establishing himself first as a merchant and landowner who owned and managed several large plantations, Dominico married Marie Rozine Brecke, who belonged to a French Creole family that had already established deep roots in the region. This union signified the initial integration of Italian and Creole customs within the family, producing a cultural fusion that was both unique and emblematic of Louisiana's complex ethnic landscape.

The Avegnos prospered in New Orleans, a thriving port city renowned for its mercantile opportunities and cultural vivacity. Their plantation estates were not merely agricultural enterprises; they were symbols of status that underscored the family's social standing in a region where plantation culture was synonymous with wealth and influence.

The plantations, cultivating lucrative crops such as sugarcane and cotton, were the linchpin of their financial success. These vast agricultural ventures not only secured the Avegno family’s economic stature in the region but also linked them to the broader transatlantic trade networks that shaped the economy at the time.

Integral to their rise was the ability to navigate the diverse cultural mosaic of Louisiana, a place teeming with a mix of French, Spanish, and Creole influences. This multicultural navigation allowed the Avegnos to build strategic alliances and foster significant connections within the community, which were pivotal to their prosperity. The family's accomplishments were not merely a testament to their financial acumen, but also to their capacity to adapt to the evolving socio-political milieu of Louisiana, enabling them to thrive in a time of considerable flux.

Virginie’s father Major Avengo was killed in 1862 in America’s Civil War at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Five years later Virginie’s widowed mother took her eight years-old daughter and second daughter Louise to live in Paris.

Virginie Amélie — later known as Madame X — become a celebrated model and socialite in Paris, maintaining an indelible connection to her Louisiana Creole heritage.

Virginie Gautreau in Paris

Henri Gervex (1852-1929). "Une soirée au Pré-Catelan"

The Belle Époque in France, meaning ‘Beautiful Era,’ is generally dated from 1871 to 1914, spanning the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the start of World War I. It was a period of optimism, peace, and significant cultural, scientific, industrial and technological growth, especially in Paris. 

The ‘Beautiful Era’ followed France’s Second Empire, [the reign of Napolean III] lasted from 1852 to 1870, and ended with the collapse of the second empire after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. On September 4, 1870, the French Third Republic was proclaimed, ending the Empire.

Consumer culture created a shared sense of European ‘golden age’ characterized by relative peace, prosperity, and cultural exchange. The celebration of high-quality craftsmanship was a significant part of the Belle Époque. The result across Europe — but very anchored in Paris — was the meticulous creation of luxury goods, emphasizing handwork, artistic detail, and durable, beautiful objects as a response to industrialization. Items like fine jewelry, furniture, and architectural details in buildings blossomed into works of art.

The influence of Creole culture on Virginie would have been profound during this period of dramatic cultural expansion in Paris. Her upbringing in this vibrant milieu provided her with a deep appreciation for art, music, and fashion, aspects of her personality that later intrigued and captivated John Singer Sargent when he painted her portrait.

The Creole society's emphasis on elegance and sophistication can be seen as subtly reflecting in her posture and demeanor in the renowned portrait, showcasing her as a quintessential product of this unique cultural heritage.

In Paris, Virginie Amélie Avegno, at age 19, married a wealthy French banker, Pierre Louis Gautreau on June 24, 1878. The young wife with an innate maverick streak quickly became one of the most noted figures in Parisian society, celebrated for her strong, unusual beauty and distinctive style.

Two Mavericks Challenging Parisian Cultural Propriety

Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast - 1882 83-Sargent John Singer. Alamy. This Sergent painting of Madame Gautreau preceded ‘Madame X’, unveiled in 1884 at the Paris Salon of 1884.

As the married Madame Gautreau, Virginie’s reputation was that of an unconventional trendsetter, known for her adventurous fashion sense and her penchant for using lavender face powder to accentuate her fair complexion made whiter with arsenic. Sargent's interest in painting her was piqued by her striking appearance and social notoriety.

The commissioning of the portrait arose from Sargent’s ambition to make his mark in the Parisian art world by immortalizing one of its most fascinating characters. The earlier portrait of Madame Gautreau [above] appears to be already more free-wheeling in maintaining social standards with his maverick muse.

Sargent’s ambition was to create a stunning portrait of this Creole-roots, Parisian socialite that would cement his status in the Parisian art scene.

Madame Gautreau was his very willing accomplice, keen to collaborate in creating a magnificent work of art. The painting features Madame Gautreau elegantly poised in a sleek black gown with jeweled straps, her pale skin accented against the dark backdrop. Her pose is both confident and enigmatic, with her face turned in profile and her right hand on her hip.

John Singer Sergent Self-Portrait. Alamy

The way Sargent captures the texture of her skin, the gleam of her jeweled earrings, and the sheen of her black gown showcase his extraordinary skill in painting light and shadow.

Sargent's use of composition is equally daring. He places Madame Gautreau against an ambiguous, dark background that enhances the viewer's focus on her figure, a compositional decision that adds to the painting's arresting nature. Unlike conventional portraits of the time which sought to flatter, Sargent's portrayal of Virginie is bold and unapologetic, emphasizing her distinctive profile and self-assured demeanor. His brushwork, balancing precision with fluidity, conveys both the physical presence and enigmatic allure of his subject.

Even today, from its position at the New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, [below] the painting embodies a tension between elegance and boldness, capturing the very essence of Sargent's ability to push the boundaries of conventional portraiture.

The second Sergent painting on the below left called ‘Lady with the Rose’ [Charlotte Louise Burckhardt] is an 1882 painting by John Singer Sargent. Madame X , on the right, was unveiled in 1884. It’s not the only painting Sergent produced from his focus on Louise Burckhardt. A second one ‘El Jaleo’ [1882] is more sensual in dance, even though Burckhardt’s body remains more covered.

A Cultural Catastrophe and Parisian Uproar

Lady-with-the-Rose and 'Madame-X-at Metropolitan-Museum-of-Art. Alamy.

With its unveiling at the Paris Salon in 1884, Gautreau and Sargent found themselves in the center of an absolute uproar of disapproval among critics and the general public. The audacious depiction of a woman known for her provocative presence was considered scandalous. In particular, the initial outrage was fueled by the original painting showing one strap scandalously slipped off her shoulder.

The portrait, intended to capture her ethereal beauty and sophisticated demeanor, instead garnered scandal due to its provocative nature. Gautreau, who was accustomed to admiration and societal acclaim, found herself at the center of a controversy that painted her in a light far different from her cultivated social image.

Her initial reaction was one of profound shock and distress. The French society, which had once revered her elegance, now criticized the portrait for its audacity, particularly due to the fallen strap that exposed her shoulder, an artistic decision that Sargent later modified to placate public outrage.

Critics lambasted the portrait for its perceived vulgarity, and some viewed it as an affront to bourgeois sensibilities. The uproar was not only about the artistic choices Sargent made but also reflected broader societal taboos of the time concerning female sexuality and propriety.

Racial undertones and notions of ‘exoticism’ towards Gautreau were also unleashed more openly. Her pale, carefully powdered skin was suddenly seen as unnaturally white, clashing with rumors of her ‘mixed-race’ heritage, although modern researchers believe she was from a prominent, white lineage.

Overnight, Virginie Gautreau was knocked off her purity pedestal. Deeply disturbed by the societal backlash, Gautreau withdrew further into her private life, feeling the sting of shame and embarrassment.

London, UK. 20th Feb, 2024. Madame X, 1883-4 with other work - Sargent and Fashion a new exhibition at Tate Britain revealing the artist's ground-breaking role as a stylist.. via Alamy

The painting which she had hoped would secure her position as a style icon, instead became a source of ridicule. Though she continued to navigate the social circles, her interactions were marked by a caution that had not previously existed. The episode tarnished not only her public image but also seemed to temper her once vibrant spirit and uninhibited approach to social distinction.

John Singer Sargeant, the artist, was forced to modify the painting, repositioning the strap to maintain Madame Gautreau’s modesty.

Despite the initial controversy, or perhaps because of it, "Madame X" eventually solidified Sargent's legacy as a master portraitist of considerable talent and daring. Despite the mixed reactions, it opened doors for commissions from wealthy patrons across Europe and America.

As for Gautreau, she never really recovered from the scandal. She did lead a maverick life in Paris, but much more quietly until her death in Cannes, France on July 25, 1915 at age 56.

Sargent had kept the scandalous "Portrait of Madame X" for decades, but Gautreau's passing removed the last personal tie, leading him to sell it to The Met, where it remains a celebrated masterpiece today and key inspiration for the August 2025 issue of American Vogue’s focus on Sarah Burton’s Givenchy debut as the new creative director.