Madame X, an oil portrait by American artist

John Singer Sargent, portrays the cool, patrician hauteur

of a wife of a wealthy man who herself

came up from nothing.

Her face reflects uncertainty

as if she can only spare but moment for the portrait

and must leave soon. She leans nonchalantly

on a single, round wooden table. The background

is without ornamentation or drape.

Her arm is painted suggestively in a shapely, sinuous line,

a flow mirrored by her tiny waist and hourglass form.

Her black satin gown with fitted pleats and folds

Enhances her hips, with a heart shaped neckline

Of black velvet plunged daringly low for the period,

highlighting her milky white skin. The tiny gold and pearl

shoulder straps subtley represent her fragility.

Even her auburn hair is simple and unadorned. It is worn up,

but close to her head, and it appears to have been cut.

Curls sneak out along her neckline.

No lush Victorian pompadours or jewels or diamond tiaras

Distract from her beauty. She is a young mother,

wishing she could be with her children. Perhaps her head

is turned so she can hear them better, but perhaps

it is a small vanity to show off her lovely profile.