Madame Max

Madame Max is a full-length portrait that Giovanni Boldini painted in 1896, when the Italian-born artist was already working in Paris. The sitter is Jeanne Max, a singer and society figure in the capital, wife of Charles Max, whose salon drew the Parisian elite. The work was shown at the Salon of the Société nationale des beaux-arts, where the critic François Thiébault-Sisson praised Boldini's ability to heighten his models' grace through unexpected, often daring poses. The figure steps towards the viewer with a direct, relaxed gaze, in an unsteady pose that conveys movement and sensuality. The pearl-grey evening dress, with one strap provocatively slipped from the shoulder, is rendered in the long, loose brushstrokes Boldini called sciabolate, while the face, with its rosy cheeks and vermilion lipstick, is painted with more care. The harmony of greys, close to Whistler, and the tight framing that minimises the surroundings add to the sense of lightness. The slipped strap recalls the scandal of Sargent's Madame X, a controversy that by the late century had become acceptable.

Painter

Giovanni Boldini

Date

1896

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

203 × 100 cm

Museum

Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Genre

portrait

Depicts

woman

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