Paris portraits: artists, friends, and lovers

Abstract

The art of portraiture reached a pinnacle of expressive achievement in early twentieth-century Paris. Liberated by the advent of photography, artists were able to reimagine the nature of human portrayal, producing kinds of portraits - Fauve, Cubist, Dada, Surrealist, and Expressionist - unlike any seen before.This remarkable book focuses on a rich variety of these portraits, presenting paintings, sculpture, and works on paper by such artists as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Duchamp, Brancusi, Lipchitz, Gris, Rivera, Modigliani, Dubuffet, Laurencin, and Soutine. A major essay explores the fascinating network of personal and aesthetic relationships that existed at the time, as artists depicted themselves and their friends, collectors, critics, spouses, and romantic partners.