Madame X (Countess Anna-Elizabeth de Noailles)

Auguste Rodin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eyes half-open, Countess Anna-Elizabeth de Noailles, a Parisian poet, appears suspended in a state of tranquil reverie. The glowing, milky surface of her carved likeness, typical of Rodin’s late marbles, obscures the details of her coiffure and facial features. Displeased with these veiled forms—as well as the prominence given to her nose—the countess rejected the portrait. Three years later, the bust was purchased by the trustees of The Met from the sculptor’s studio with the title Madame X (Lady Unknown).

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art