Strapless
By Deborah Davis
Tarcher / Penguin, 2003

Review by Catherine Kaleel

The book Strapless by Deborah Davis is genuinely a good read about the history behind John Singer Sargent’s painting Madame X. I love this painting and was happy to read about it. I don’t know if anyone caught “the Americans in Paris” traveling art exhibit that started in Boston and is in NYC right now, but it has Madame X in it. Breathtaking.

The portrait is really of an American society woman living in Paris named Amélie Gautreau. It begins with her ancestors, The Avegnos, in New Orleans, her marriage into money with the older ugly French Pedro Gautreau, her alleged affairs, and especially the parisien public obsession with her, her fading youthful beauty and the scandal with the very painting. I thought, the author took too much of a sympathetic angle when Amélie rid her house of mirrors, wore veils out in public and slowly became a recluse, while Sargent struggled for business and eventually became successful in England and in the US. I mean, Amélie was probably just very very vain to the point where it became crippling (i.e. crazy).

Later on in the book, you get a feeling that Sargent painted his boyfriend’s face onto the portrait because Amélie and his young male hottie looked so similar, but it isn’t really talked about. The rumored amour of Sargent was a lesser painter named Albert de Belleroche and was the subject in more than thirty of Sargent's sketches and paintings. And it hasn’t been proved what sexual orientation Sargent was. What the book did clear up was his National orientation; he was born in Italy, but with U.S. citizenship. He didn’t really live in the U.S. until later in his adult life. Reading about Sargent’s traveling art maker life, surrounded by all those personalities that had buckets of cash, you kind of ask yourself, why not me?

I like some of the historical facts, like the day before the Salon opening, when all the artists put a new coat of varnish on their pieces to darken the darks and brighten the hues; the day is officially called "Varnishing Day". Also, a review on the origins of the mall, department stores, and purchasing merchandise on credit was interesting.

Unfortunately, the writer incorporates too much of her self into the book. For instance, in the introduction, Ms. Davis says that for some “a Hollywood event ceremony” she wears some designer black dress. It reminds her of Madame X and therefore she decides to read more about the painting. I feel that this is a dumb excuse to write a book. She obviously tries to make it seem she wasn’t just trying to come up with a good subject to write about. In the acknowledgements she says, “I was afraid the art world would be closed to me as an outsider.” And goes on to say it wasn’t. OK. First of all the art world is full of outsiders. That is what the art world is; a world of outsiders. Secondly, she isn’t an outsider she is a writer and veteran film executive. That isn’t like being a law enforcer or a sales associate for Office Depot that is nowhere close to the art world. This introduction and end acknowledgements made the book in a whole seem like some delicious grilled portabello mushrooms, perfectly ripe organic roma tomatoes, and homemade pesto sauce sandwiched between untoasted Wonderbread.