Sargent and Paris at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Capri Girl on a Rooftop, 1878, oil on canvas

After a long week filled with unavoidable doomscrolling, annoying speculation about the upcoming Papal conclave, and everyday interactions with the insufferable denizens of Gotham, visiting the ongoing exhibit Sargent and Paris at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits. Exploring the enchanting early works of painter John Singer Sargent (1856–1925), the exhibition presents a rich array of pieces from his travels and the decade he spent in Paris, including his scandalous portrait of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, famously referred to as Madame X.

Rosina Ferrara (Capri Peasant - Study), 1879, oil on canvas

(L) Dan les Oliviers à Capri (Among the Olive Trees, Capri), 1878, oil
on canvas. (R) Young Man in Reverie, ca. 1876-78, oil on canvas

Neapolitan Children Bathing, 1879, oil on canvas

(L) Staircase in Capri, 1878, oil on canvas. (R) Fumée d'Ambre Gris
(Smoke of Ambergris) 1880, oil on canvas

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (Portraits d'enfants), 1882, oil on canvas

(L) Madame X (Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau), oil on canvas, 1883-84.
(R) Unfinished Replica (Study of Mme Gautreau), ca. 1884, oil on canvas

(L) "Portrait of Mme***" from Le Monde Illustré, July 5, 1884, woodcut, Charles Baude (French, 1853-1935), after John Singer Sargent. (R) Photograph of "Madame X," from Album of Photographic Reproductions of Paintings by John Singer Sargent, ca. 1884-85, Albumen silver print, unknown artist

Madame Gautreau Drinking a Toast, 1882-83, oil on panel

Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau, Study for "Madame X,"
1883-84, charcoal on paper

(L) La Carmencita (Carmen Dauset Moreno), ca. 1890,
oil on canvas. (R) The Sulphur Match, 1882, oil on canvas

Venetian Interior, ca.1880-82, oil on canvas

The Fencing Master Arséne Vigeant (1844-1916), 1885, oil on canvas

In no rush to leave, I took the opportunity to view the Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature exhibit one more time before it closes on May 11, 2025.

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, c.1818, oil on canvas; and The Chasseur
in the Forest, 1814, oil on canvas, by Caspar David Friedrich

A Walk at Dusk, 1830-1835, oil on canvas, Caspar David Friedrich