Madame X and Monsieur Z
Do you know that not only old ladies posed with Us, Zarathustra the Cat, for the great American painters?
The most stylish of ladies, M-me Virginie Gautreau, also admired our beauty and chose Us as a companion for her portrait.
Here is John Singer Sargent’s masterpiece, depicting two extremely elegant beings:
John Singer Sargent, Madame X and Monsieur Z
Here you can see a photo of the artist himself in his studio, with his masterpiece:
John Singer Sargent in his atelier, “M-me X and Mr. Z” on the easel
When John Singer Sargent exhibited this masterpiece at the Paris Salon, people were shocked and scandalized, mainly because of the position of Our paw at the beauty’s chest and of the position of M-me Gautreau’s hand at the bottom of Our belly. Poor ignoramuses, they didn’t know that, in opposite to them, We are relieved of Our animal desires, and that cats usually look for warm places, and nothing more, as well as cats’ hot and soft belly bottoms, are so attractive for beautiful ladies who have a cold in their open evening gowns!
Sargent was obliged to create a new painting, without a cat in it, but even this extreme action was able to calm the scandal only 30 years later when it was sold to the Metropolitan Museum, where you can find it now:
A version without a cat, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection
But We are sure; they also hide the Cat version in a special room!
You can visit Madame X alone at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. But don’t forget to ask to a guide: “Please show me the version with the Cat!”. They would love to help you!
Thus speaks Zarathustra the Cat
