John Singer Sargent first showed his portrait of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gatreau at the Paris Salon of 1884. More than 130 years later, the gigantic figure of Sargent’s masterpiece was launched into orbit on the thrust of millions of tiny pixels.
The Madame X Rocket was built as a joint effort of the Royal Society for Imaginary Rocket Ships and the Very Silly Projects Committee of the National Geologic Society. Today she flies in a low geosynchronous orbit over Los Angeles, California, radiating her grace over the community of artists and other residents.
Portrait of Madame X, John Singer Sargent (1884). Click to enlarge.
Portrait of Madame X, detail. John Singer Sargent (1884). Click to enlarge.
I thought I saw something up there.
C’est vrai, je suis dans l’air au-dessus de votre ville. Je vous bénis et tout l’art que vous faites.
Ik wou dat je er was geweest toen ik schilderde. Je bent zo mooi, ik zou het een meesterwerk gemaakt met je mee.