Suzanne Valadon: The Mistress of Montmartre

by June Rose, Suzanne Valadon

A portrait of the artists who created the Montmartre era of art history chronicles the unconventional life of Maurice Utrillo's mother, a fine artist in her own right, who was also the lover of Renoir, Erik Satie, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Art History, Art, History

284 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

June Rose spent five years exploring the private world of Dr Barnardo's, matching archive material with the memories of staff and children which is documented in her book For the Sake of the Children. Her first excursion into the charitable world, Changing Focus, was written to mark the centenary of the R.N.I.B. Since then her two acclaimed biographies, The Perfect Gentleman, the life of James Miranda Barry, a nineteenth-century woman doctor who masqueraded for forty years as a man, and Elizabeth Fry, the life of the Quaker prison reformer, reflect her concern with social questions.

Reviews

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating biography of a French artist. As a young girl one would describe her as independent and willful and that attitude continues throughout her life. As a young girl she joined the circus but was injured in a fall and took up drawing without any training. To earn money she modeled for various artists and perhaps had trysts with several of them. However she was very observant, watching them work and their techniques. She cared deeply for her illegitimate son who became a painter in his own right.
What makes this women so interesting is her being able to do this against the patriarchy of the art world of that time. Her talent was such that Degas took her under his wing and bought several of her art works. Her second husband was also an artist but was jealous of her and her son's abilities though he was a capable business manager where they were not.

[Michaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this one even more than the more recent one by Kathleen Hewitt as this one has more illustrations.

[Linda]

I was seeking a biography if this artist but am dissuaded from this one describing her as "unconventional life of Maurice Utrillo's mother," which suggests she is still battling the patriarchy.