De Lempicka

Goddess of the Automobile Age The changing aspects of femininity and masculinity Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980) stood at the center of the sophisticated Paris art world of the 1920s and 30s. Her love for beautiful women, elegant automobiles, and the modern metropolis provided not only motifs for her pictures, but also influenced her artistic style. Simultaneously with her career as artist, Tamara de Lempicka pioneered a new image of life on the screen, evident in the new, self-confident woman and the changing aspects of femininity and masculinity. The same sense of style was reflected in a futuristic cult of speed, domestic design forms promulgated by the Bauhaus, and the dandyism of a George Brummell. Tamara de Lempicka's best-known painting, "Self-Portrait, or Tamara in a Green Bugatti", presents the artist as a female dandy brimming with cool elegance. Whether as an Art-Déco artist, a post-Cubist or a Neoclasissist, de Lempicka struck the taste of a cosmopolitan (and wealthy) public that found its own image reflected in her work. About the Series: Every book in TASCHEN's Basic Art Series features: ? a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist ? approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions ? a concise biography The author: Gilles Néret (1933-2005) was an art historian, journalist, writer and museum correspondent. He organized several art retrospectives in Japan and founded the SEIBU museum and the Wildenstein Gallery in Tokyo. He directed art reviews such as L'OElig;il and Connaissance des Arts and received the Elie Faure Prize in 1981 for his publications. His TASCHEN titles include Salvador Dalí: The Paintings, Matisse, and Erotica Universalis.