In 1926, Coco Chanel launched the little black dress, which, 35 years later, became iconic thanks to Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy accoutrement in the epochal film Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Flash forward to the present day, and the little black dress has become a staple in the modern woman's wardrobe. However, before Chanel's pioneering designs, the colour black was exclusively intended for mourning. It was therefore highly unusual for women to be portrayed donning black dresses.
Below are five examples of the black dress making precocious appearances in art history.
John Singer Sargent, Madame X (1883-84)
The subject of John Singer Sargent's (1856-1925) Madame X seems to be sporting an early version of the little black dress. The garment depicted probably inspired Versace's 1990s creations years later.
Sargent's model was a New Orleans-born woman named Virginie Gautreau (1859-1915) who moved to Paris with her mother after her father's death in the American Civil War. The duo's mysterious origins and renowned beauty catapulted them to fame among the lower classes of their new hometown. Despite her humble origins, Virginie married the wealthy banker Pierre Gautreau.
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Although the title 'Portrait of Madame X' protected Virginia's identity, the American artist hoped it would allow him to gain greater recognition in exclusive Parisian art circles. However, the painting failed to achieve much success due to the sitter's bold portrayal, instead causing a scandal at the 1884 Paris Salon.
This misstep resulted in Sargent never acquiring the fame he had set out to attain in Paris, obliging him to move to England. However, the controversial piece still managed to gain prominence in London, where it was exhibited at various international exhibitions in 1905. Finally, in 1916, the painting was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Joseph Karl Stieler, Lola Montez (1845)
The next painting is a portrait of a true globetrotter whose lifetime consisted of stints in Europe, India, Australia and North America. She was best known as Louis I of Bavaria's mistress and was so unpopular during the German Revolution of 1848 that her mere presence in Munich contributed to the city's unrest.
When the king met Lola Montez (1821-1861) in 1846, she had already sojourned and performed in a multitude of European capitals. Although she became famous as a Spanish dancer, Lola didn't bear a drop of Spanish blood in her veins. Née Elizabeth Rosanna Gilbert in Ireland to a Scottish infantryman, her family relocated to India where her father passed away as a victim of cholera. Although she was shipped back to England to pursue an education, she quickly returned to India upon her short-lived first marriage. After her divorce, she relocated to London, took on the stage name Lola Montez, and posed as a Spaniard to facilitate her professional dancing career.
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Montez shuttled around Europe, hoping to establish a name for herself. She instead ended up building a reputation as a courtesan, thanks to her various dalliances with notable men in the likes of Franz List, Alexandre Dumas, and newspaper drama critic Alexandre Dujarier who helped revive her career. The latter met a tragic end when he lost a duel over Montez. She then moved onto Munich in 1846, where her scandal-ridden affair with Ludvig, king of Bavaria, prompted his abdication in 1848. Her two-year liaison to the king granted her the title of countess of Landsfeld (in 1847) and a portrayal by Joseph Karl Stieler. In her depiction, Montez’s peregrine appearance is heightened by the sharp contrast of her lace collar against her jet-black hair and dress.
After her fling with Ludvig, she took on two other husbands and passed through Switzerland, France, the United States, and toured Australia before surrendering to syphilis in 1961 in New York, at the young age of 39.
James McNeill Whistler, Whistler’s Mother (1871)
The following composition by the American painter James McNeill Whistler (1832-1903) has three different titles: Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1, Portrait of the Painter's Mother and' Whistler's Mother (the latter being the most common).
There are various stories relating to the painting's subject, the best-known being that Whistler's acted as a stand-in for another model who missed the rendezvous. Another famous tale states that Anna Whistler is seated in the painting as her 63-year-old frame could not take standing for long stretches of time.
At the time of the painting's creation, Whistler and his mother lived in London, so the artist decided to submit his picture to the Royal Academy of Arts' 1872 exhibition. The public thoroughly disapproved of the painting's simplicity and title, which they felt did not pertain to the subject matter, with critics calling it a 'failed experiment'.
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In 1981, the French state bought the painting. Today, it hangs in Paris' Musée d'Orsay. The portrait has also extensively toured the United States, causing the depiction to become Whistler's most iconic work.
Gyula Benczúr, Portrait of Empress Elizabeth (1899)
Francis Joseph I of Austria (1830-1916) described the portrait of his wife Elisabeth (1837-1898) as the best of all portrayals of the Empress because it depicted her figure 'extremely well' and because her face had a 'very nice expression'. The Hungarian artist Gyula Benczúr (1844-1920) painted the portrait of Elisabeth of Bavaria in 1899 (colloquially known as Sisi), the year after Elisabeth was murdered in Geneva. She is portrayed donning an elegant black dress against a gilded golden background.
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It must have been a difficult task for Benczúr to portray the deceased Empress. Though, had she lived, the project would perhaps have been just as challenging as Sisi self-consciously refused to be rendered in her advanced years. Elisabeth declined being photographed from her thirties, with umbrellas and fans becoming her constant companions.
The black dress is crucial in representing the last nine years of Sisi's life. After her son Rudolf of Austria committed suicide in January 1889, she was never again seen sporting anything other than black attires. Only once a year, on her husband's birthday, did she make an exception.
Franz von Stuck, Die Sünde (1893)
Contrary to widespread assumption, no scandal was caused when Franz von Stuck (1863-1928) presented his painting Die Sünde (The Sin) at the inaugural exhibition of the Munich Secession in 1893. Instead, it caused a sensation, becoming a cult depiction of the fin de siècle and an emblematic painting for the symbolist movement.
In the symbolic work, Stuck portrayed his favourite model and mistress, Anna Maria Brandmaier. What at first glance appears to be a low-cut black frock is the sitter's long black hair and an enormous snake. Both the woman and the snake look directly at the viewer, reinforcing the painting's seductive character.
