Lot Essay
Kiki de Montparnasse, as she became known, modelled for a great many avant-garde artists living in this Parisian quartier in the twenties. She was well-known for her wit and vivacity, as well as her talent for singing erotic folk songs. She sang at the night club Le Jockey which was frequented by the likes of Man Ray, to whom she was muse and mistress for many years. She came from a small village in Burgundy and told Man Ray that "someday she'd go back to the country, live quietly and raise pigs", and it was her strange peasant-like beauty which is apparent in his drawings of her. It is not surprising that Man Ray should find her an inspiration for his work as well as an ideal companion to suit his bohemian life-style in Montparnasse. She is immortalised in works such as the photo-collage Violon d'Ingres (R. Penrose, Man Ray, London, 1975, pp.91-3).
Kiki also modelled for many other artists at this time, including Kisling. Kisling recalled: "A cette epoque mon meilleur ami était Modigliani. Mais ce n'était plus le garçon sobre d'avant la guerre. Il venait tous les jours dans mon atelier; nous travaillions ensemble et nous avient souvent les modèles communs ... Quelle époque extraordinaire, trepidante nous vivions alors. Comment pouvais-je rentrer à peu près ivre tous les matins à sept heures et être reveillé à neuf quand le modèle arrivait? Je prenais ma douche et me mettais au travail. Ces modèles était Kiki, Tillia, Bronia". (G. Charensol, Moïse Kisling, Paris, 1948, pp. 16-17.)
Kisling painted Kiki many times and made the most of her striking features: her broad, pale face framed by close-cropped black hair, and her large, wide-set eyes. This is particularly clear in the first portrait he painted of her in 1920 which can be found in the collection of Mlle Sambon, Paris (J. Kisling, Kisling, Turin, 1971, no. 29, p. 146). However, it is his sensual nude portraits of Kiki that are the most memorable, as we can see here. In this work, the fullness of her feminine curves are offset by the coquettish expression with which she fixes the viewer.
Of her relationship with the artist, Kiki was enigmatic: when Pascin questioned her in 1924 in an interview entitled "Que pensez-vous de Kisling?" she replied, "Je vous le dirai à l'oreille!" (Exh. cat., Kisling Centenaire, Galerie Daniel Malingue, Paris, 1991, no. 27).
Kiki also modelled for many other artists at this time, including Kisling. Kisling recalled: "A cette epoque mon meilleur ami était Modigliani. Mais ce n'était plus le garçon sobre d'avant la guerre. Il venait tous les jours dans mon atelier; nous travaillions ensemble et nous avient souvent les modèles communs ... Quelle époque extraordinaire, trepidante nous vivions alors. Comment pouvais-je rentrer à peu près ivre tous les matins à sept heures et être reveillé à neuf quand le modèle arrivait? Je prenais ma douche et me mettais au travail. Ces modèles était Kiki, Tillia, Bronia". (G. Charensol, Moïse Kisling, Paris, 1948, pp. 16-17.)
Kisling painted Kiki many times and made the most of her striking features: her broad, pale face framed by close-cropped black hair, and her large, wide-set eyes. This is particularly clear in the first portrait he painted of her in 1920 which can be found in the collection of Mlle Sambon, Paris (J. Kisling, Kisling, Turin, 1971, no. 29, p. 146). However, it is his sensual nude portraits of Kiki that are the most memorable, as we can see here. In this work, the fullness of her feminine curves are offset by the coquettish expression with which she fixes the viewer.
Of her relationship with the artist, Kiki was enigmatic: when Pascin questioned her in 1924 in an interview entitled "Que pensez-vous de Kisling?" she replied, "Je vous le dirai à l'oreille!" (Exh. cat., Kisling Centenaire, Galerie Daniel Malingue, Paris, 1991, no. 27).