MFAH retrospective highlights stylish Tamara de Lempicka
Portraits of young women line the walls. Some look like they are posing for a picture or are leisurely resting on furniture. Each one displays their elegance front and center.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents “Tamara de Lempicka” through May 26. The retrospective features more than 90 of Lempicka’s works.
Tamara de Lempicka is one of the leading painters of the Art Deco era of artistic expression. Her art conveys the glamour of old Hollywood and the period between WWI and WWII.
She was born in Poland in 1894 as Tamara Rosa Hurwitz and was taught to hide her Jewish identity at a young age due to the rise of anti-Semitism. She married Polish aristocrat Tadeusz Lampicki. The couple lived in St. Petersburg before fleeing to Paris at the height of the Russian Revolution in 1916.
Tamara needed to make money and wanted to be independent, so she decided to become an artist, first presenting her works at the Salon d’Automne in 1922 under the name “Monsieur Lempitzky,” before she became known as Tamara de Lempicka.
“Russian Dancer” is a standout piece from her early years. The painting has a glossy and refined appearance. The bright colors of the woman’s garments pop out and are pleasing to the eye.
Lempicka was described as a sponge who wanted to retain as much knowledge of art as possible, but at the time, it was hard for women to be able to study painting. Even so, she has been praised for her knowledge of male and female anatomy in her nude paintings.
Pieces such as “La belle Rafaela” and “Reclining Nude” are painted beautifully and show the correct weight distribution when a woman lies down. Considering women were not allowed to attend life-drawing classes until the end of the 19th century, “Male Nude” shows how much she paid attention to the finer details of human anatomy.
Lempicka was a queer artist who did not hide her love for both men and women. “Portrait of a Man (Tadeusz Lempicki)” is a painting of her first husband is striking. The deco-style cityscape complements the angularity of the figure. Ironically, a painting of her female lover, Ira Perrot, “Portrait of a Young Woman in a Blue Dress,” is displayed right across from the Lempicki’s portrait. The portrait is sensuous, and one clearly sees the erotic undertone.
It is easy to imagine Lempicka would admire the modern queer artists of today such as Chapell Roan, a popular singer known for her songs “Hot To Go,” “Good Luck, Babe,” and “The Giver,” which are famously about her female lovers, as she herself is a lesbian.
By the 1930s, Lempicka honed her craft and created paintings which emphasized women’s fashion. Each piece has bright and vibrant colors. “Young Woman in Green (Young Woman with Gloves)” is a standout piece from this era. The woman’s dress is a striking green, which pops out amongst the silver and grayscale backdrop. The model herself is poised and confident, like a lead actress standing in the spotlight.
“Spring” is a subtle, yet beautiful display of floral dresses. The women in the painting are posed tenderly in an environment that feels warm and alive.
In 1939, the threat of Nazi invasion led Lempicka and her second husband, Baron Raoul Kuffner, to leave for the United States to avoid persecution. She insisted on being known as Baroness Kuffner and focused on religious paintings themed around Catholicism.
“The Refugees” is a telling piece of this point in Lempicka’s life. While the people in the painting are not her and Kuffner directly, the viewer is forced to confront the fear families felt with the rise of fascism in Europe.
Lempicka’s work was featured prominently in the U.S. in the 1940s but was not respected the press who dismissed her as simply a “baroness with a brush.” Her later works are few and far between, but the beautiful still lifes, such as “Arums” and “Arums (Still Life with Arums and a Mirror),” show Lempicka never lost her mastery of technique.
By 1972, her work was exhibited in Paris and created a renaissance Lempicka was able to witness just before her death in 1980.
“Tamara de Lempicka” is a remarkable glimpse into the artist’s life and the people she loved and is a document to the art deco world between the wars. It is a wonderful display of chic modern art.
“Tamara de Lempicka” is on display through May 26. For more information, visit mfah.org.
