#madame x portrait
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Deathly Pale
The desire of women for ultra-pale skin didn't end with the Elizabethan era. In Victorian times, women still coveted the look of translucent white skin and applied the same causic, poisonous substances to their face, neck, arms and hands. Turbuculosis was a common cause of death in the era. The look of death was considered romantic for its tragic and poetic beauty. Even if a Victorian woman wasn't charmed by death due to turbuculosis, she still coveted pale, translucent skin. Tanned faces were the result of long hours of work out-of- doors, belonging to the lower classes.
“The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world.” - Edgar Allan Poe
The two predominant beauty standards were the painted beauty and the natural beauty. The later was the preferred ideal of the average fashionable woman. The methods she employed to achieve good skin and complexion were all in an effort to look natural. The overly painted look was seen as racy - the province of prostitutes and "loose" women.
Upon a well-off Victorian woman's dressing table were arsenic, ammonia, and opium, among other toxic substances. The Ugly-girl Papers, Or, Hints for the Toilet was a book published in 1874 that contained a series of beauty articles for Harper's Bazaar. The author recommends coating the face with opium before bed and a brisk wash with ammonia in the morning. How refreshing.
Lotions containing lead were popular for whitening the skin as well as erasing freckles and other blemishes. Complexion wafers containing arsenic were widely advertised. These products were peddled to women as being harmless when, in fact, they caused headaches, nausea, and even paralysis.
To achieve eyes with a seductive gaze, Victorian women used Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade in the form of eye drops, which diluted the pupils. Eye irritation and even blindness were reported symptoms of this practice.
A little color over that deathly white facial palor was usually achieved with beet juice and sometimes, animal blood. It's intriguing to wonder how women came into possession of animal blood, though the answer may be as simple as a purchase from a local vendor. Vermillion, also known as red mercury, was used to tint the lips and was known to be poisonous.
Virginie Gautreau, the subject of the famous John Singer Sargent painting known as Madama X, was not only known to use products to whiten her skin, but was also purported to use indigo dye to paint veins over the ultra-pale veneer of her skin. I haven't found any sound evidence of this, however. What I did read in both The Collector and in an article at minsooki, was that over her arsenic pale skin, Virginie used a lavender powder to counteract the warmth of candlelight.
What's most troubling is that in the face of ample evidence of the health consequences of many of these products, women continued to value the look they provided, over their own health and safety.
References:
• Molly Brown House Museum: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder: How Victorians Used Common Poisons to Become Drop Dead Gorgeous
• Awful Forever
• Atlas Obscura
• minsooki.com
• The Collector
#victorian era#history of makeup#victorian beauty standards#poisonous beauty products#madame x portrait#victorian high society
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Okay this one is a little silly. Who knew the painting it's a study of without checking? XD
Portrait of Madame X by John Singer Sargent is a scandalous, super famous painting. This was mostly just for fun, running on extreme burnout with more than 10 mermaids to go is a tall order. Aka I tried to cut myself some slack here, pick something quick and uncomplicated.
(In order to finish enough mermaids to fill my self-appointed deadline in time I am not going to be finishing colorized versions of all of them. The amount of time it takes to color and shade just wasn't possible...which means only coloring book owners will get to see some of them until I get inspired to finish them up!)
I am the artist! Do not post without permission & credit! Thank you! Come visit me over on: instagram, tiktok or check out my coloring book available now \ („• ֊ •„) /
https://linktr.ee/ellen.artistic
#portrait of madame x#historical mermaids#ellen artistic#ellenart#digital illustration#mermaids#the burnout is real guys#I'm applying to retail jobs and despair
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Portrait of Mevrautje Inej
inspired by the amazing fic Serves You Right by @linearao3, for all your undercover kanej needs, incl kaz being very into playing inej's servant ;)
#tgv#sab#soc#inej ghafa#kanej#the grishaverse#six of crows#crooked kingdom#ck#shadow and bone#s&b#kaz x inej#serves you right#tltl art#my art#art#soc art#fic rec#image description in alt#click for quality! :)#portrait of madame x#beyond inej herself there's some bonus spot-the-differences between this and the original painting ;)#1) her hair is coiled in a braid (since inej does that part herself in the fic)#2) the red jewels in her hair and on the bodice (as described in the fic. it's supposed to look like blood spatter!)#3) gloves! kaz gives inej some looooong gloves to wear#4) shoulder chains (3 as described in fic with the right pair slipping down so kaz has to fix them oh noooo)#5) KNIFE. because of course inej has a couple stashed away. she's holding it bc it's a fun parallel with madame x holding her gloves#6) inej's side-eye. she be watching
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I did this for purely academic reasons and definitely not because I have been thinking about Good Omens non-stop. Or that I just think this look would really suit Crowley.
#my art#artistsontumblr#art#painting#my stuff#digitalart#study#john singer sargent#portrait of madam x#good omens#crowley#anthony j crowley#david tennant#practice#i like to think it currently resides in the private collection of a certain Mr. Fell#fanart#good omens fanart#good omens art#go fanart
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madame x - john singer sargent
#mine#madame x#portrait of madame x#john singer sargent#art#art history#dark academia#light academia#dark academic#soft academia#academia#dark academia aesthetic#books#dark acadamia
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Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau)
John Singer Sargent (American, Florence 1856–1925 London) (1856 - 1925)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
#oil painting#art#john singer sargent#OMG I’m head over heels for Madame X#oh for the fallen shoulder strap#portrait of Madame X#the metropolitan museum of art#nyc#met
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Les Modes : revue mensuelle illustrée des arts décoratifs appliqués à la femme, no. 19, vol. 2, juillet 1902, Paris. Helleu. — Portrait de Mme X… (Pointe sèche). Bibliothèque nationale de France
#Les Modes#20th century#1900s#1902#periodical#fashion#art plate#drypoint#Helleu#bibliothèque nationale de france#dress#hair#portrait#Madame X#cover#july covers
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Hear me out yall.
Jegulus Madame X painting story Au.
James is a famous painter who desperately wants to paint Regulus Black who is the heir to the Black Family fortune and known for his good looks, common within the Black family. But Regulus refuses every time until he finally agrees. Throughout the process of painting, James and Regulus fall in love. However, when James releases the painting named, "Heir X", scandal falls upon Regulus because of the way it was painted and he is forced to retire somewhere private until his reputation recovers, he does so, but doesn't tell James. Who ends up hunting him down they reconcile and yay everyone is happy.
I wanna write this
#marauders#regulus black#marauders era#regulus arcturus black#jegulus#james potter#james x regulus#sunseeker#starchaser#james fleamont potter#regulus x james#james potter x regulus black#fanfic ideas#portrait of madame x#jegulus au
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Sargent study but make it blorbo related
#don’t think I’ll finish this#johnny silverhand#cyberpunk 2077#cyberpunk2077#cp2077#my art#art#john singer sargent#portrait of madame x#just more painter ex headcanon stuff
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John Singer Sargent, Portrait of Madame X, 1884
John Singer Sargent, Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1888
#john singer sargent#portraits#portrait artist#portrait painting#isabella stewart gardner#isabella stewart gardner museum#american artist#american art#american painter#american painting#portraiture#art aesthetic#art museum#madame x#modern art#art history#aesthetictumblr#tumblraesthetic#tumblrpic#tumblrpictures#tumblr art#tumblrstyle#artists on tumblr#aesthetic#beauty
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FINALLY SAW HER IN REAL LIFE AND SHE’S SOMEHOW EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL
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Do you ever paint yourself an oc insterted into a classical painting and go "yeah, I want it on my wall"? Redbubble, I'm coming.
#art#master study#john singer sargent#madame x#digital illustration#painting#clip studio paint#portrait#artists on tumblr#original character#oc
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Anna Lisa Wagner (German, born June 12, 1994)
Portrait of Madame X, 1884. John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
#fangledeities#anna lisa wagner#german model#pin up model#glamor photography#john singer sargent#american painter#master portrait#portraiture#edwardian#madame x#sheer#pinups#art history
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Photo
Madame X-Files
Master copy of John Singer Sargent’s Portrait of Madame X but with Dana Scully instead
#digital painting#john singer sargent#portrait of madame x#x files#x-files#Dana Scully#master copy#emsschoolwork
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One of the sketches for Portrait of Madame X by John Singer Sargent
#art#belle epoque#john singer sargent#art history#history#sketch#victorian#portrait of madame x#madame x#amelie gautreau
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My girlfriend is so pretty… unrelated question do any of you have any favorite classical painting of a beautiful woman please and thank you
#ok not unrelated question actually kdmdmd#i kinda wanna try doing a study ot a classical painting#and also drawing my gf#i was thinking portrait of madame x because dress would def suit her but she doesn’t like her side profile ://#i think it’s really pretty and i am gay but I’ll look at other stuff
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