Although he is usually thought of as an American artist, John Singer Sargent was born in Florence, honed his craft in Paris and died in London. This exhibition presents early work made in France, where he arrived as a student in the art-historically significant year of 1874 and lived until the mid 1880s (23 September–11 January 2026). Some 100 paintings, drawings and watercolours are on display, including Madame X (1883–84), Sargent’s scandalous portrait of the socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau. The painting drew so much scorn at the Paris Salon of 1884 – largely for the dress strap that was falling off Avegno’s shoulder – that it may have prompted the painter’s move to London. Sargent declared it the best thing he’d ever done, though he later repainted it with the offending strap placed securely on Avegno’s shoulder. The show has travelled from the Met, where Madame X has resided for more than a century.
Find out more from the Musée d’Orsay’s website.
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