Mystery of the Lost Paintings ep. 5 - Mystery of the Lost Lempicka
Follow the ingenious recreation of Tamara de Lempicka's Myrto, the priceless painting that was stolen during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II.
Most probably, it was with this painting that Lempicka captivated the physician Boucard, who immediately acquired it for his collection. It contains the basic luminist formulas invented by this artist, which represent her originality. The face of a sleeping woman in the background resembles photos of Lempicka at the time. During World War II, a member of the German occupation troops in France was so attracted by the work's power of seduction that he could not resist snatching it up; to date (1998), it has never resurfaced.
Tamara Lempicka was a Polish painter active in the 1920s and 1930s, who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art Deco portraits of aristocrats and the wealthy, and for her highly stylized paintings of nudes. Born in Warsaw, Lempicka briefly moved to Saint Petersburg where she married a prominent Polish lawyer, then travelled to Paris. She studied painting with Maurice Denis and André Lhote. Her style was a blend of late, refined cubism and the neoclassical style, particularly inspired by the work of Jean-Dominique Ingres.
She was an active participant in the artistic and social life of Paris between the Wars. In 1928 she became the mistress of Baron Raoul Kuffner, a wealthy art collector from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the death of his wife in 1933, the Baron married Lempicka in 1934, and thereafter she became known in the press as "The Baroness with a Brush".
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, she and her husband moved to the United States and she painted celebrity portraits, as well as still lifes and, in the 1960s, some abstract paintings. Her work was out of fashion after World War II, but made a comeback in the late 1960s, with the rediscovery of Art Deco. She moved to Mexico in 1974, where she died in 1980. At her request, her ashes were scattered over the Popocatépetl volcano.
Mystery of the Lost Paintings ep. 5 - Mystery of the Lost Lempicka
Most probably, it was with this painting that Lempicka captivated the physician Boucard, who immediately acquired it for his collection. It contains the basic luminist formulas invented by this artist, which represent her originality. The face of a sleeping woman in the background resembles photos of Lempicka at the time. During World War II, a member of the German occupation troops in France was so attracted by the work's power of seduction that he could not resist snatching it up; to date (1998), it has never resurfaced.
Tamara de Lempicka
Tamara Lempicka was a Polish painter active in the 1920s and 1930s, who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art Deco portraits of aristocrats and the wealthy, and for her highly stylized paintings of nudes. Born in Warsaw, Lempicka briefly moved to Saint Petersburg where she married a prominent Polish lawyer, then travelled to Paris. She studied painting with Maurice Denis and André Lhote. Her style was a blend of late, refined cubism and the neoclassical style, particularly inspired by the work of Jean-Dominique Ingres.
She was an active participant in the artistic and social life of Paris between the Wars. In 1928 she became the mistress of Baron Raoul Kuffner, a wealthy art collector from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. After the death of his wife in 1933, the Baron married Lempicka in 1934, and thereafter she became known in the press as "The Baroness with a Brush".
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, she and her husband moved to the United States and she painted celebrity portraits, as well as still lifes and, in the 1960s, some abstract paintings. Her work was out of fashion after World War II, but made a comeback in the late 1960s, with the rediscovery of Art Deco. She moved to Mexico in 1974, where she died in 1980. At her request, her ashes were scattered over the Popocatépetl volcano.
