RevealingthevitalinfluenceoftheFrenchartistMarieLaurencin,hervisualidiom,andhersexualexpressiononthemodernismoftwentieth-centuryParisThisbookoffersalong-overduereassessmentofthecareeroftheParisian-bornartistMarieLaurencin(1883-1956),whomovedseamlesslybetweentheCubistavant-gardeandlesbianliteraryandartisticcircles,aswellastherealmsfashion,ballet,anddecorativearts.CriticalessaysexploreherearlyexperimentswithCubism;herexileinSpainduringWorldWarI;hercollaborativeprojectswithmajorfiguresofhertimesuchasAndr矇Mare,SergeDiaghilev,FrancisPoulenc,andAndr矇Groult;andherroleintheemergenceofa“Sapphicmodernity“inParisinthe1920s.Alongwithmorethan60full-colorplates,Laurencin’slifeandcareeraredocumentedthroughanillustratedchronologyandexhibitionhistory,aswellasanappendixchartinghernetworkoffemalepatronsandassociates.Laurencinbecameafixtureofthecontemporaryartsceneinpre-WorldWarIParis,includingasamuseandromanticpartnerofthepoetGuillaumeApollinaire.Shereturnedtothecityafterthewar,havingdevelopedhersignaturestyleofdiaphanousfemalefiguresinablue-rose-graypalette.Laurencin’sfeminineyetsexuallyfluidaestheticdefined1920sParis,andherworkasanartistanddesignermetwithhighdemand,withcommissionsbyBalletsRussesandCocoChanel,amongothers.HerromanticrelationshipswithwomeninspiredhomoeroticpaintingsthatvisualizedthemodernSapphismofcontemporarylesbianwriterslikeNathalieCliffordBarney.Indeed,oneofLaurencin’sfinalprojectswastoillustratethepoemsofSapphoin1950.DistributedfortheBarnesFoundationExhibitionSchedule:BarnesFoundation,Philadelphia(October22,2023-January21,2024)
