You can find works by Marie Laurencin here.
Born in Paris in 1883, Marie Laurencin is one of the leading female painters of the 20th century, known as one of the most popular female artists of the 20th century alongside Tamara de Lempicka.
Aspiring to be a painter from a young age, she studied painting at the Académie Humbert in Paris. There she met Georges Braque and deepened her friendships with Pablo Picasso and the poet Guillaume Apollinaire at the "Bateau-Lavoir" studio, where Montmartre artists gathered. While influenced by Cubism in her early career, she eventually developed her own delicate style.
Laurencin had a romantic relationship with Apollinaire, and although they later parted ways, his famous poem "Le Pont Mirabeau (Mirabeau Bridge)" is said to be about his feelings for her.
In 1907, she exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, and in 1912, she held her first solo exhibition, receiving high acclaim. Around this time, she moved away from Cubist influences and established her own unique style, depicting elegant and pure female figures with pale pastel colors and soft lines. She thus became widely known as a painter of the École de Paris.
In 1914, she married a German baron, but due to World War I, she evacuated to Spain, living in Madrid and Barcelona. Upon returning to Paris in 1920, she became a popular artist symbolizing the new era, and it became a trend among Parisian high society women to commission portraits from Laurencin. She also achieved success in stage design and costume design for ballet and opera.
During World War II, she continued to create despite difficult circumstances, including the requisition of her home by the German army.
Marie Laurencin passed away in Paris in 1956. Her poetic and elegant depictions of women continue to be loved worldwide as iconic works of 20th-century French art.