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Lot Essay
Jean-Pierre Cassigneul has confirmed the authenticity of this painting.
By the early 1960s, Kiki Lagier was a well-known figure at the centre of Parisian night-life. At 20 years old, endowed with a remarkable physical and spiritual presence, she embodied the lightness and carelessness of a time when everything seemed possible. After Truman Capotes famous black and white ball, whose invitation mandated diamonds only (...) balls were in vouge in Paris. We went out every evening and glided onwards at 6am to Roissy to the awaiting private-jet. We had our breakfast abroad, sometimes in New York, sometimes in London or Berlin.
Lagier was the muse of fashion designer Paco Rabane and became good friends with actress Ursula Andress, models Marisa Berenson and Grace Jones and the dancer and host of Paris, Jacques Chazeau. It was amongst this crowd that she met and charmed the Russian Prince Yusupov and the American billionaire J. Paul Getty, as well as artists like Csar, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali and his muse, Amanda Lear.
In 1963, at age 22, she met the painter Jean-Pierre Cassigneul whom she describes as gifted with an extraordinary charm and humor. The young painter was struck by the splendor of Kiki, who was filling inches in the social columns of the day with descriptions of her dresses, jewellery and hairstyles. When Cassigneul asks her to pose for him, Kiki readily agrees, being familiar with the what is being asked of her. Lagiers mother had also been a model for Jean-Gabriel Domergue and Gen Paul was a great friend of her family.
The result of their joint endeavor is the present lot. Standing in front of a decorative frieze in amber tones, which probably refers to the famous room in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, stands a young semi-nude woman. The hair of the model, long and red, floating freely around her face fills the upper part of the painting. Her heavily made-up eyes and distant gaze give her the look of a true femme-fatale. Her neck is extended, around it hanging a huge necklace partially obscuring her naked breasts.
When Kiki began modelling for Cassigneul, she had just started creating her own unique jewellery. On one of her early visits to the artists studio she was carrying the necklace she had just completed. Commissioned by an aristocratic Russian family for a ball to be held that winter, it was made from gold with amethyst, turquoise, baroque pearls and a gold double headed eagle. Cassigneul knew he had found the perfect costume to compliment his equally flambouyant model.
By the early 1960s, Kiki Lagier was a well-known figure at the centre of Parisian night-life. At 20 years old, endowed with a remarkable physical and spiritual presence, she embodied the lightness and carelessness of a time when everything seemed possible. After Truman Capotes famous black and white ball, whose invitation mandated diamonds only (...) balls were in vouge in Paris. We went out every evening and glided onwards at 6am to Roissy to the awaiting private-jet. We had our breakfast abroad, sometimes in New York, sometimes in London or Berlin.
Lagier was the muse of fashion designer Paco Rabane and became good friends with actress Ursula Andress, models Marisa Berenson and Grace Jones and the dancer and host of Paris, Jacques Chazeau. It was amongst this crowd that she met and charmed the Russian Prince Yusupov and the American billionaire J. Paul Getty, as well as artists like Csar, Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali and his muse, Amanda Lear.
In 1963, at age 22, she met the painter Jean-Pierre Cassigneul whom she describes as gifted with an extraordinary charm and humor. The young painter was struck by the splendor of Kiki, who was filling inches in the social columns of the day with descriptions of her dresses, jewellery and hairstyles. When Cassigneul asks her to pose for him, Kiki readily agrees, being familiar with the what is being asked of her. Lagiers mother had also been a model for Jean-Gabriel Domergue and Gen Paul was a great friend of her family.
The result of their joint endeavor is the present lot. Standing in front of a decorative frieze in amber tones, which probably refers to the famous room in the Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, stands a young semi-nude woman. The hair of the model, long and red, floating freely around her face fills the upper part of the painting. Her heavily made-up eyes and distant gaze give her the look of a true femme-fatale. Her neck is extended, around it hanging a huge necklace partially obscuring her naked breasts.
When Kiki began modelling for Cassigneul, she had just started creating her own unique jewellery. On one of her early visits to the artists studio she was carrying the necklace she had just completed. Commissioned by an aristocratic Russian family for a ball to be held that winter, it was made from gold with amethyst, turquoise, baroque pearls and a gold double headed eagle. Cassigneul knew he had found the perfect costume to compliment his equally flambouyant model.