Overview of SYMHC Classics: Marie Laurencin
This episode (originally released June 26, 2019) of Stuff You Missed in History Class profiles French modernist painter Marie Laurencin — her life, artistic development, relationships in the Paris avant-garde, career highs and controversies, wartime experiences, and the posthumous shifts in her reputation. The hosts describe encountering Laurencin’s work at the Musée de l’Orangerie and trace how a once internationally sought-after artist became less visible after her death before experiencing renewed interest in later decades.
Key points and takeaways
- Marie Laurencin (born Marie-Mélanie Laurencin) was a prominent Parisian artist active from the 1900s through the mid-20th century, best known for pastel, willowy portraits of women and animals.
- She was closely connected to the Paris avant-garde — friends and collaborators included Guillaume Apollinaire, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and members of the Cubist circle — but ultimately developed a distinct, intentionally “feminine” style that set her apart.
- Laurencin’s peak commercial and critical success came in the 1920s–1930s (portraits, book illustration, set and costume design) but her reputation faded after WWII; renewed scholarly and curatorial interest grew from the 1970s onward, and notable recent exhibitions include a Barnes Foundation show (2023–24).
- Her life intersected with social controversies (romantic relationships with women, wartime ambiguities about collaboration and protection of friends) that complicated her legacy.
Biography / timeline (concise)
- Born in Paris on October 31, 1883. Raised by her mother Pauline (a seamstress/embroiderer); father was largely absent.
- Early training: porcelain painting (Sèvres) and study at the Académie Humbert. Nearsighted but determined; active in Paris salons.
- c.1907–1913: central years in Montmartre avant-garde. Relationship with poet Guillaume Apollinaire (creative and turbulent). Exhibited at Salon des Indépendants (1907), Salon d’Automne (1912; part of La Maison Cubiste), and the Armory Show (1913).
- 1914: married a German artist (transcript names vary); lived in neutral Spain during WWI, faced isolation and criticism back in Paris for marrying a German.
- 1921: returned to France; 1922: stomach cancer surgery and hysterectomy.
- 1920s–1930s: career peak — portraits, commissions, book illustrations, and set/costume design (notably Ballets Russes Les Biches); represented by dealer Paul Rosenberg.
- WWII: stayed in Paris during the occupation; apartment requisitioned; some works labeled “degenerate” or looted. Arrested briefly after liberation in a purge but later exonerated.
- Later years: withdrew socially, close companionship with Suzanne Moreau (adopted in 1954). Died June 8, 1956; buried at Père Lachaise.
Artistic style, themes, and major works
- Signature style: delicate, decorative compositions; muted pastel palette (pinks, blues, greens, greys); simplified, willowy figures, often women and animals; dreamlike, slightly unreal settings.
- Early work showed Cubist influence (flatness, primitive lines, browns/greys) but she deliberately moved away to a softer, feminine aesthetic.
- Recurring themes: female relationships, youth, animals (frequently dogs), and poetic/ethereal moods; occasional darker motifs expressing isolation or entrapment (e.g., The Prisoner).
- Notable works and projects mentioned:
- Group of Artists (sold in 1908 to Gertrude Stein)
- Reunion in the Country / Apollinaire and His Friends (gift to Apollinaire)
- Portrait of Coco Chanel (in Musée de l’Orangerie)
- Costume/set designs for Ballets Russes — Les Biches (1924)
- Book illustrations: Alice in Wonderland (1930), Sappho etchings (1950)
- Famous quips/quotes reflecting her outlook:
- “Why should I paint dead fish, onions, and beer glasses? Girls are so much prettier.”
- An obituary critic: “She can paint a girl with eyes like a doe and a doe with eyes like a girl.”
- Laurencin on gender and art: she expressed feeling “at ease with everything that is feminine” and distanced from male painters’ “genius.”
Relationships and social circle
- Close personal and creative partnership with Guillaume Apollinaire — mutual influence; Apollinaire called her his feminine counterpart and credited her with opening new poetic possibilities for him.
- Friendship/association with Picasso, Braque, and other Cubists, though Laurencin resisted being labeled strictly a Cubist.
- Frequent participant in Natalie Barney’s salon (an important women-centered literary/artistic circle) and other Parisian salons.
- Romantic and lifelong bonds with women, notably Nicole Groult (Paul Poiret’s sister) and later Suzanne Moreau (companion, later adopted).
- Mixed reception among peers: celebrated by some (Apollinaire, patrons like Gertrude Stein) but criticized or dismissed by others (Gertrude Stein’s snide remarks and Picasso’s circle).
Career highs, public reception, and decline
- High point: 1920s–1930s — international exhibitions, profitable portrait commissions, collaborations in theater and publishing.
- Critical marginalization: post-war critics often considered her later work repetitive; her “decorative” and explicitly feminine aesthetic made some art historians dismissive.
- Reputation decline after death: she limited access to her papers and requested restrictions on research; Moreau’s custody of the estate delayed broader scholarship until the 1970s when feminist and LGBTQ historical interest revived attention.
- Japan’s appreciation: major collector Masahiro Takano amassed a substantial collection and founded a Marie Laurencin museum (opened 1983; later reopened/closed several times), showing her particular popularity there.
WWII-era controversies and wartime actions
- Stayed in Paris during the Nazi occupation; apartment requisitioned by occupying authorities.
- Some of her work was classified as degenerate or looted.
- Her wartime political positioning is ambiguous: she had connections to intellectuals tied to Vichy and German authorities in some ways, yet also intervened personally to try to help friends (e.g., attempt to assist Max Jacob). After liberation she was briefly detained during purges but was exonerated.
Legacy and modern reevaluation
- Laurencin’s reputation has fluctuated: internationally prominent in her lifetime, less visible after her death, then rediscovered from the 1970s onward by scholars interested in women’s and LGBTQ histories.
- Recent exhibitions: Barnes Foundation’s “Marie Laurencin: Suffolk, Paris” (Oct 2023–Jan 2024) and a later showing at the Columbus Museum of Art in 2024 — signs of renewed institutional interest.
- Reasons for historical neglect include:
- Perception of her work as decorative or “feminine” and thus less serious within a modernist canon that valorized formal experimentation and abstraction.
- Her own statements and preferences (e.g., favoring young, fair-skinned models; asserting differences between men’s and women’s art) complicated feminist readings.
- Contemporary reassessments emphasize her distinct visual language and role as a woman artist who maintained independence in a male-dominated modernist scene.
Notable quotes and soundbites from the episode
- Hosts’ reaction: serendipitous discovery of Laurencin’s paintings at the Musée de l’Orangerie sparked the episode.
- Artist quotes and critical lines used to illustrate her artistic stance and reception (see “Artistic style”).
- Anecdotes: Laurencin fencing while holding lenses for her nearsighted vision; she hosted Cubists at her mother’s apartment.
Where to see her work / further resources
- Musée de l’Orangerie (Paris) — several Laurencin paintings are in the collection.
- Barnes Foundation (Philadelphia) — presented the 2023–24 “Marie Laurencin: Suffolk, Paris” exhibit.
- Columbus Museum of Art — mounted a later version in 2024.
- Marie Laurencin Museum (Japan) — historically important private collection; museum opened/closed intermittently (originally opened 1983; closed in 2019), but its holdings have contributed to exhibitions.
- Recommended works to look up: Group of Artists; Reunion in the Country (Apollinaire and His Friends); Portrait of Coco Chanel; The Prisoner; her Sappho etchings (1950).
Actionable suggestion: If you liked the episode, view Laurencin’s works online via the Musée de l’Orangerie and Barnes Foundation websites, and seek out published catalogues of her retrospectives (many are in French). The episode’s show notes include links to some of the paintings mentioned.