![]() |
---|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
The Muse Series:
I was fascinated by the number of artists whose lives and art were directly influenced by the women in their lives. Call them ‘Muses’ or in most cases mistresses, without them, a lot of artists may had led very different lives.
1. Dora Maar - Picasso’s Muse (1936 - 1944)
Famous in her own right as a photographer, poet and painter,
Dora Maar’s beauty and self mutilation attracted Picasso - (she cut her
fingers and a table playing “the knife game”). Picasso got her bloodied
gloves and exhibited them on a shelf in his apartment.
2. Jeanne Hebuterne - Modigliani’s Principal Muse
On 24 January 1920, Amadeo Modigliani died after a long battle
with Tuberculous Meningitis (along with substance abuse).
The day after his death, Jeanne Hebuterne tragically threw herself
from a 5th floor apartment and died along with Modigliani’s unborn child.
3. Tronie - Vermeer's Muse
Jan Vermeer’s Muse (1665). Sometimes referred to as
“The Dutch Mona Lisa” and commonly known as “Girl with a Pearl Earring”,
the muse was thought to be a “Tronie” - a term used to describe an
unidentified sitter - although debate exists as to whether
it was actually Vermeer’s daughter Maria, or Magdalena - the daughter of Vermeer’s principal patron. Vermeer produced only 35 paintings in his lifetime.
4. Dora Maar - Picasso Muse (1936 - 1944)
Another interpretation painted as a commission.