Lempicka

by Patrick Bade

Les portraits, les nus et les natures mortes de Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980) résument l’esprit Art déco et Jazz Age. Ils reflètent le style de vie élégant et hédoniste d’une élite fortunée et glamour dans le Paris de l’entre-deux-guerres. Combinant une formidable technique classique et des éléments empruntés au cubisme, Tamara de Lempicka représente à l’époque le summum de la modernité, tout en s’inspirant de grands maîtres portraitistes comme Bronzino et Ingres. Ce livre célèbre la beauté rationnelle de ses meilleurs travaux réalisés entre 1920 et 1930. Il retrace l’histoire de la vie extraordinaire de cette femme séductrice et talentueuse du début du siècle en Pologne et dans la Russie des tsars, ainsi que celle de ses années glorieuses à Paris et de ses longues années de déclin aux Etats-Unis jusqu’à sa redécouverte triomphante dans les années 70, lorsque ses portraits devenaient des icônes emblématiques mondialement connues.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography

Kindle Edition

First published April 6, 2005

Reviews

[Herman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lempicka By Patrick Bade: A biography of the Art Deco painter Tamara de Lempicka a very important artist of the twentieth century who often painted a edgy feminine empowerment, a blending of elegance and social realism of Germanic new objectivity in bold flat colors fem-fatales with predatory unsmiling gazes dressed in bra roque folds of satin like shinny clothes standing in front of futuristic cubistic cityscapes. Lempicka herself was very much a polyglot upper class hedonistic and snobbish woman she had a great influence in art and fashion during the 20’s and 30’s and has become even more famous and fashionable over time. Perhaps the most famous lesbian artist of all time although she loved both sexes it seems women were her favorite subjects and were often painted in suggesting or sexually overt poses. I’m interested in studying her work to inform my own painting and might at some later date attempt my own homage by doing a copy of one of her many portrait but that is neither here nor there as far as this book review is concerned I wanted to know more about her work life and motivation and this book provided me with that very well four stars.

[Benjamin Torres · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good introduction to the life and work of Tamara De Lempicka, but I could not shake the feeling that the author does not think much of her or her oeuvre, he shows De Lempicka in not the best of lights to say the least. She is portrayed as a spoiled, rich and superficial artist, and that may be the case, but it is kind of annoying to be reminded so constantly and vehemently.

[GJC · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Saw a great documentary about her and wanted to delve a bit deeper.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This quick overview of Lempicka's life and work emphasizes her main themes and techniques, as well as her influences and motivations. One of the most revealing aspects of the book is the set of descriptions of "master works," which highlight works of interest rather than only those that were her best. The accompanying reproductions serve to illustrate the author's conclusions about her development as an artist--that she sprang to life as a creative force that combined commercial imagery and financially beneficial portraiture with the aesthetics of an age, featuring superficial beauty rather than depth, and then falling out of fashion as her style no longer gibed with the times.