Madame X by John Singer Sargent has been my favorite paintings since my freshman year of high school. I had a photography class and my teacher showed us how art throughout history was like photography. When she showed us Madame X I fell in love with it. When I got the chance to see it in person the following year the woman in the painting both fascinated and awed me for some reason and still does to this day. The painting at the time it was made caused a lot of scandal because of her low cut dress and her very white makeup. I don't think many thought at the time that it would be one day a beautiful painting to many. Even though she is very pale in a black dress making her look almost like a symbol of death and sadness, she grasps the viewer's attention and becomes more beautiful, radiant, and confident than ever before. Now how does this painting fit in with the Horowitz reading? Well, the colors in this painting are mainly earth tones with the exception of the surprising white tone of the woman's skin. There seems to be a glow around the woman and with the outer edges of the painting being darker, it draws us into the woman. The brushstrokes show an emphasis on the woman's figure and in some areas like on the dress are in fine detail. The focal point of this painting is on the woman. Your eyes is instantly drawn to her and she remains beautiful throughout time.
I love this painting as well. We actually compared it to a photograph in history of photography last semester. If I remember correctly, this painting was done from a photograph in which the woman's dress strap was falling off her shoulder, causing even more controversy. Sargent later repainted that area, placing the strap back on her shoulder. Makes for an interesting painter/model relationship theory huh?
ReplyDelete08/29 blog on time.
ReplyDelete