Tamara de Lempicka

The Art Deco was a movement of artistic nature that had its heyday between 4920 and 1939, an artistic style that included architecture, graphic design, interior design and industrial. It was characterized by the use of well-delineated geometric figures and by the use of striking colors. One of the main representatives of this type of art was undoubtedly Tamara de Lempicka , a Polish painter who stood out mainly for the beauty she expressed in her female portraits and nudes.

Tamara de Lempicka was born into a fairly wealthy family. Her real name was Rosalía Gurwik-Górska and she was born between 1895 and 1900, however, she made several arrangements where she stated that her date of birth was May 16, 1898 . His childhood was full of education in art and he studied in different academies thanks to his mother’s social class. In 1910 he painted his first work, a portrait with his sister . In 1911, he spent time with his grandmother in Italy where he learned to love Renaissance painting.

After her grandmother passed away and her parents divorced, Tamara de Lempicka moved to live with an aunt in Saint Petersburg , who was also quite well off. At this time he decided to enter the Academy of Fine Arts and began to participate in the cultural life of the place. Some time later he married and had a daughter, whom he even presented as his sister so that people would not know her true age.

Some time later, her husband was imprisoned by the Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution and, with great difficulty, managed to get him out with the help of his father-in-law, then fleeing to Paris , where they settled. It was her sister who encouraged her to develop her artistic skills and little by little she began to gain more fame, mainly in high society. He studied for a time at the Ranson Academy where he received instructions and education from Maurice Denis and André Lhote .

In 1925 he was able to present his first artistic exhibition for which he painted 28 different works in six months. From that moment on, she was considered the first and the most important female exponent of the current known as Art Deco . His lifestyle was too hectic and he had romantic relationships with men and women which led to his divorce. Some time later he married again and moved to America where he achieved fame among the New York bourgeoisie exhibiting his works in various American galleries .

In 1960 , he decided to change his style and began to use abstractionism , however, I could not win so many followers. In 1962, her second husband died and she decided to move to Mexico , in Cuernavaca with her daughter, where he died a few years later.

Death

Tamara’s death is considered to be completely natural . She passed away in her sleep on March 18, 1980 and her ashes were dumped by her daughter in the crater of the Popocatépetl volcano .

Relations

In 1916 Tamara de Lempicka married a lawyer named Tadeusz Lempicki , who later would be imprisoned, later they divorced. In 1934 she remarried Baron Raoulf Kuffner to later move to America.

Children

Tamara de Lempicka had only one daughter whom she named Kizette, although her real name was Maria de Krystyna .

Fathers

His father was called Boris Gurwik-Górski , he was an important lawyer of Russian Jewish descent who worked for a French company. His mother, Malwina Dekler , of Polish nationality and belonging to high society, was a socialist and dedicated herself to living most of her life outside the country.

Tamara de Lempicka Characteristics

It is important to remember that Tamara de Lempicka specialized in Art Deco . He knew how to represent all the aesthetics of the movement and his work has been considered a historical legacy throughout time. In his works, it is common to find representations of beautiful women , a little cold , very erotic and with a certain air of melancholy . He was looking for a way to manifest and represent a woman with greater freedom than had been imposed in his time.

Tamara de Lempicka’s work was always full of bright , vibrant colors , by exact contrasts of shadows and lights. He used a fairly strong color palette like red, colors that could provide definition and purity . His lines were very precise , exact and sharp . The themes of his works were characterized by representing the female figure , mainly the bourgeois class. It adequately combined the modern with the past , and was heavily influenced by the Renaissance.

Her characteristics as a woman include elegance, culture, intelligence. A slightly eccentric, funny, hedonistic, bisexual, very sophisticated and exuberant liberal woman.

Technique

The main technique that Tamara de Lempicka used was Art Deco. His technique was focused on creativity , portraits , religious paintings , still lifes and female and male nudes . It was based on elegance using bright and bright colors . She sought with her painting technique to represent the emancipated woman , capable of living her life on her own. He used geometric figures, glamor and fashion.

Acknowledgments

It is recognized worldwide as the best representative of Art Deco . She is recognized for the importance she gave to women by representing her as an independent and capable being , powerful and aware of her beauty. It has even been recognized by famous artists who have included its paintings in music videos.

Works by Tamara de Lempicka

Among the main works of Tamara de Lempicka the following are mentioned:

Self-portrait in a green Bugatti

A cubist work that was painted for a German fashion magazine which was looking for an image that would show emancipated women, women who could live comfortably. She made a self-portrait driving a brand new green Bugatti . The painting shows the make-up , the gloves and the handkerchief as personal accessories.

Girl with gloves

This work is considered one of his most representative works where you can see a woman dressed in intense green in which you can also clearly see the geometric figures . Her almost transparent silk dress reflects the beauty of her nakedness.

Kizette on the balcony

This painting was painted in oil in an Art Deco style . A work in which he used his daughter, Kizette, as a model and in it he reveals his most tender and emotional part , using an artistic language different from the one he used to show in the rest of his paintings. In the work you can see a full-length little girl sitting next to a balcony. In her right hand she seems to be holding an object and the warm lighting shows the girl’s innocence .

Music

In this work of art painted in oil, a woman can be seen in full body and shows two types of aesthetic forces that are completely opposite but at the same time complementary. On the one hand, a calm and serene pose can be observed through the woman holding a mandolin in her hands, on the other hand, modernity can also be observed with the buildings on the horizon.

Importance

Tamara de Lempicka was a woman who, in addition to having an extremely important role in art, especially in Art Déc o, had the ability to confront and challenge society, mainly on issues of gender roles . He gave importance to the figure of the woman represented in his works all the capacities that the female sex can have.

Phrases

Some of Tamara de Lempicka’s phrases were:

• Each of my paintings is a self-portrait.
• It is not necessary to believe in what an artist says, but in what he does.