I can say without hesitation that Art Deco is my favourite modern style. I only have to look at anything with an Art Deco influence and my mind immediately relaxes. It is transported into the blissful world of a classical yet symmetrical style which for a few wonderful years took the world over before being destroyed by the reality of World War Two.
Art Deco was to be found everywhere from magnificent buildings (the Chrysler building inthe USA is a good example) to dreamlike liners such as the Normandie. Its influence was to be found everywhere from ceramics to jewellery from furniture to the bold geometrical fabrics of the period.
After the horrors of the First World War it was time to dance and listen to jazz and enjoy oneself. History travels in circles but for those few years between the wars people were able to let their hair down and throw off their mourning rags and dance naked in the fountains. What surprises me about Art Deco is that although it was influenced by a number of styles (such as Cubism and Futurism), there was never an artist that was totally associated with Art Deco. Well there was one but how many of you can name her?
Even here in Hungerford you occasionally see copies of her work exhibited in the Arcade window.
I believe there is a print of hers in the lovely jazz window which is currently brightening up our rather dour January days. The artist in question is Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980) who above all others represented the Art Deco style. Today you can find Tamara’s work on calendars and posters as well as in many coffee table books. Framed prints are easy to find and not all that expensive and can really brighten up the most boring of walls.
But who was Tamara and why does her name not slip off of the tongue as a Monet or a Picasso would? True her exotic name is a bit of a mouthful but strangely enough although her work is instantly recognisable, her name is slightly forgotten. Even today and taking into account the very high prices that her paintings fetch, she is not really (in my view) considered a serious artist. This is a little sad as Tamara opened up a bright bold window into an age now long gone and regretfully missed.
Tamara was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1898 into a wealthy prominent family in the city.
Her birth name was the rather less exotic Maria Gorska and she was the middle child of three. Tamara’s father was a well-known Russian Jewish attorney called Boris Gurwik-Gorski and her mother was a Polish socialite named Malwina Dekler.
In her early years Tamara attended a boarding school in Switzerland and in 1911 went to Italy and the French Rivera with her grandmother. It was while in Italy that she first saw examples of the work of the Great Masters of Italian painting. The following year her parents sadly divorced and Tamara went to live with her wealthy Aunt Stella in St Petersburg. Soon after her mother remarried and this fueled a determination in Tamara to break free and make her own way in life.
It is said that at the age of fifteen whilst attending an opera, she spotted the man she intended to marry. His name was Tadeusz Lempiki (1888-1951) who was considered a ladies man as well something of a gadabout. They married in St Petersburg in 1916 and apart from having a beautiful bride, Tadeusz also benefitted from a large dowry.
There was also another very significant event in Tamara’s life in 1916 that was that she gave birth to her daughter Kizette (1916-2001) who featured as a model in a number of Tamara’s later paintings. For reasons best known to herself, Tamara kept Kizette in the background and many people were not aware that she had a daughter.
A year later Tadeusz was arrested by the Bolsheviks and was thrown into jail. After searching for him for a few weeks he was found by Tamara who, with the help of the Swedish consul, was able to secure his release. They left Russia and finally ended up in Paris after spending time both in Copenhagen and London. They also changed their last name to de Lempicka. This I would imagine was done to hide their refugee background although this is a guess on my behalf.
Paris suited Tamara down to the ground as there was freedom that she could not find elsewhere. It was at about this time that she began to study art seriously and paint.
Tamara developed her very distinctive style under the tuition of the artist Maurice Denis (1870-1943) who was a member of both the Symbolist and Nabis schools. She also worked with the lesser known Andre Lhote (1885-1962) who apart from being an artist was also a respected teacher and writer on art. This time was important in Tamara’s development as she began to understand the fundamentals of what can loosely be described as Soft Cubism as well as Synthetic Cubism.
Tamara had strong views on Picasso (the novelty of destruction) and the Impressionists (many of the Impressionists drew badly and employed dirty colours). I disagree with both these statements but they showed the type of person Tamara was and this was to be found in her now famous style. Her work through all these influences and the influence of her unique vision was a cool but very sensuous style. This was the style that is most associated with her and it made her rich an famous.
Stuart Miller-Osborne
Coming Soon – (Tamara’s Journey – The Roaring Twenties and Beyond)
I can say without hesitation that Art Deco is my favourite modern style. I only have to look at anything with an Art Deco influence and my mind immediately relaxes. It is transported into the blissful world of a classical yet symmetrical style which for a few wonderful years took the world over before being destroyed by the reality of World War Two.
But who was Tamara and why does her name not slip off of the tongue as a Monet or a Picasso would? True her exotic name is a bit of a mouthful but strangely enough although her work is instantly recognisable, her name is slightly forgotten. Even today and taking into account the very high prices that her paintings fetch, she is not really (in my view) considered a serious artist. This is a little sad as Tamara opened up a bright bold window into an age now long gone and regretfully missed.
In her early years Tamara attended a boarding school in Switzerland and in 1911 went to Italy and the French Rivera with her grandmother. It was while in Italy that she first saw examples of the work of the Great Masters of Italian painting. The following year her parents sadly divorced and Tamara went to live with her wealthy Aunt Stella in St Petersburg. Soon after her mother remarried and this fueled a determination in Tamara to break free and make her own way in life.
It is said that at the age of fifteen whilst attending an opera, she spotted the man she intended to marry. His name was Tadeusz Lempiki (1888-1951) who was considered a ladies man as well something of a gadabout. They married in St Petersburg in 1916 and apart from having a beautiful bride, Tadeusz also benefitted from a large dowry.
There was also another very significant event in Tamara’s life in 1916 that was that she gave birth to her daughter Kizette (1916-2001) who featured as a model in a number of Tamara’s later paintings. For reasons best known to herself, Tamara kept Kizette in the background and many people were not aware that she had a daughter.
Tamara had strong views on Picasso (the novelty of destruction) and the Impressionists (many of the Impressionists drew badly and employed dirty colours). I disagree with both these statements but they showed the type of person Tamara was and this was to be found in her now famous style. Her work through all these influences and the influence of her unique vision was a cool but very sensuous style. This was the style that is most associated with her and it made her rich an famous.