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Study for Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1883–84
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)
Graphite on off-white paper; 9 3/4 x 13 3/16 in. (24.6 x 33.5 cm)
Purchase, Charles and Anita Blatt Gift, John Wilmerding Gift and Rogers Fund, 1970 (1970.47)

Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1883–84
John Singer Sargent (1856–1925)
Oil on canvas; 82 1/8 x 43 1/4 in. (208.6 x 109.9 cm)
Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1916 (16.53)

In a letter to his friend Vernon Lee, Sargent reported that he was "struggling with the unpaintable beauty and hopeless laziness of Mme. G." This study shows her lounging on a sofa. Other sketches have her kneeling on the sofa, seated with papers in her lap, and drinking a toast.

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