Giclée, Arches vellum paper, 62 x 83 cm, framed and mounted in a double passe-partout with gold mats.
Producer: Elite Lithoraphers, Edmonton, Canada
License: Tamara de Lempicka Estate, LLC Canada
References - A. Blondel, Tamara de Lempicka, Catalogue Raisonné, 1921–1979, Lausanne, 1999,
Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish-born painter known for her distinctive Art Deco style, which combined elements of Cubism and Neoclassicism with a modern sensibility. She gained prominence in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly in Paris, where she became part of bohemian and aristocratic circles. Her paintings often feature elegant, stylized portraits of wealthy and fashionable people, as well as nude figures rendered with a high-gloss, almost sculptural quality. Her work epitomized the wealth and hedonism of the interwar period, and thanks to her aristocratic connections and lavish lifestyle, she earned the nickname “The Baroness with a Paintbrush.”
“I painted kings and prostitutes. I paint those who inspire me and make me feel a certain energy.”
Unlike the Marquises or Duchesses, Rafaela was not an aristocrat. She was a “woman of the streets.” Tamara spotted her while taking a walk in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. She was struck by the stranger’s beauty—her full lips, statuesque figure, and magnetic gaze. Tamara simply walked up to her and asked, “Would you come to my studio so I can paint you?” Rafaela became Tamara’s muse for a year. The artist was completely fascinated by her—and not just artistically. Their relationship was a passionate romance. Tamara later wrote that Rafaela was “the most beautiful woman she had ever seen.” In the painting, the model’s body is not limp—it is powerful, heavy, almost carved from marble, yet it radiates an incredible heat. The “Metallic Body” Technique It is this masterful use of chiaroscuro that makes Rafaela seem to step out of the frame. The red background and the purple fabrics surrounding her only intensify the impression of passion.
Bibliography:
T. de Lempicka, Annotated Photo Albums, Houston, 1923, no. 63. (illustrated).
K. de Lempicka-Foxhall & C.L. Phillips, *Passion by Design: The Arts and Times of Tamara de Lempicka*, New York, 1987.
E. Thormann, Tamara de Lempicka, Art Criticism and Women Artists in Paris, Berlin, 1993, no. 59.
Catalog of the retrospective exhibition Tamara de Lempicka / Tra eleganza e trasgressione (Villa Medici, Rome 19 Catalog of the retrospective exhibition Tamara de Lempicka / Tra eleganza e trasgressione (Villa Medici, Rome 1994
