Skip to main content
Advanced Search
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Postcard of John Singer Sargent's "Madame X"
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
(c) 2017 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Postcard of John Singer Sargent's "Madame X"

publisher (active 1870 - )
painter (Florence, 1856 - 1925, London)
subject (American, 1859 - 1915)
Date1884-1924
Place MadeNew York City, New York, United States, North America
MediumInk on card stock
ClassificationsArchival Material
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberARC.005488
eMuseum ID717312
Other NumberU27w395
EmbARK ObjectID31401
TMS Source ID14976
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on view
Web CommentaryIsabella sought out the artist John Singer Sargent after his sensuous portrait of a beautiful American in Paris, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) caused a controversy in Paris. She commissioned him to paint her own portrait in 1888 which was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. 

Isabella purchased a preparatory oil sketch Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast (displayed in the Blue Room) and kept this postcard as a memento.

BibliographyNotesDiana Seave Greenwald and Erica Hirshler, "The Story Behind John Singer Sargent's Portait of Isabella Stewart Gardner," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 30 November 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/story-behind-john-singer-sargents-portrait-isabella-stewart-gardner
MarksNotesPostcard printed: John S. Sargent. Madame X. The Metropolitan / 33841. Museum of Art