JP Linguistics - French, Italian, Spanish Classes in NYC

View Original

The Most Painted Woman in the World

If you had to guess what connected Pablo Picasso, Raoul Dufy, Tamara de Lempicka, Marie Laurencin, and Francis Picabia, other than their status as highly respected artists, would you know where to start? 

In addition to being featured in works by each of these greats, she is aptly dubbed:

The Most Painted Woman in the World.


Born Suzanne Louise Marie Marion in 1900 in the Pie district of Saint-Servan-sur-Mer in Brittany, France, Suzy made her name as a prominent singer and actress and opened / owned a popular chic nightclub called La Vie Parisienne. In her cabarets, The Most Painted Woman in the World would sing about not only her desire for women but what she would do to them in explicit detail. The idea that she was mainstream was a wonder in and of itself. As she became more and more famous for her brash antics (imagine an early 1900s Kardashian), fierce opposition to social norms, and openness about being a lesbian, she was able to easily set the terms of her sittings. She would be given each of the thirty-three portraits of herself to hang in her club -  a la the most grand Instagram selfie feed to ever exist.

As a result of this persona, La Vie Parisienne became one of the trendiest night spots in Paris. Her fame allowed her to continue operation even throughout the Nazi occupation of France, as it was just as popular with the German soldiers as it had been for French citizens. 


After her death in 1983, forty of her favorite paintings were hung in a museum in The Grimaldi Castle Museum in Haut de Cagnes where they are still on display ranging from her youth to her later years where she took on the monicker, The Admiral.


Want to stay ahead of the curve just as French superstar Suzy Solidor once did? 

The Future is Foreign, and at JP Linguistics, we can put you on the road to French fluency sooner than you may have ever thought possible. Our immersive group classes and private lessons ensure that you are not only able to speak with ease, but are also exposed to the beautiful culture from which the language stems.