Madame X Desk Blotter
Artist
Michael Theise
(b. 1959)
Date2007
MediumOil on board
Dimensions13 1/2 x 19 1/2 in.
ClassificationsOil Painting
Credit LineGeneral Purchase Fund
Terms
Object number2008.56
DescriptionIn "Madame X Desk Blotter", Theise included a large photograph of the portrait of "Madame X" (Viginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau) by John Singer Sargent (Metropolitan Museum of Art). Madame Gautreau, a young Parisian socialite notorious for her beauty as well as her rumored infidelities, was well-known for wearing thick layers of makeup to make herself as pure and white as porcelain. Theise included envelopes addressed to and from Sargent, Gautreau, himself, and even "Madame X." Highlighting the layers of identity and deception prevalent in the social life of the elite, this painting also subtly referenced the trickery necessary to create a work of trompe l'oeil art. The artist is credited with the invention of using the desk blotter as an illusionistic conceit.On View
Not on view
