Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau)

American painter John Singer Sargent painted this Madame X in 1884, depicting Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, a Parisian society beauty. Her pale skin against the black dress and her haughty profile created a sensation. When exhibited at the Paris Salon, the painting caused scandal.

Critics attacked the suggestive pose and décolletage. Sargent originally painted one strap fallen off her shoulder, later repainting it. The scandal damaged both Sargent's and Gautreau's reputations. Sargent kept the painting in his studio for decades before selling it to the Metropolitan Museum in 1916. He considered it his best work.