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KEES VAN DONGEN - Portrait of a woman with a cigarette (Kiki de Montparnasse)

Currency:GBP Category:Collectibles Start Price:NA Estimated At:2,000.00 - 3,000.00 GBP
KEES VAN DONGEN - Portrait of a woman with a cigarette (Kiki de Montparnasse)

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a. 1922 - 1924
Painted canvass. Signed by Kees Van Dongen.
Approx: 22x16 inches. Mounted and framed.


Van Dongen combines the vibrant colouring of his Fauvist period with the importance he attached to line during his artistic beginnings as an illustrator of La Revue Blanche. The face of the beautiful Kiki, painted in muted tones and schematised to the point of verging on stereotype, stands out amid the sheer fur collar of her dark coat.

During the 1920s Kiki, the artistic name of Alice Ernestine Prin (1901–1953), was the great muse of Montparnasse, partner of Man Ray, a friend of Ernest Hemingway and the muse of the main artists of the so-called School of Paris, such as Gargallo, Foujita, Soutine, Modigliani and Marc Chagall, as well as Van Dongen.

Although it is not certain whether this is in fact a portrait of Kiki, the resemblance to the photographs Man Ray took of her make this hypothesis almost certain. Her modern appearance, sporting the short hair cut that was then in vogue, and casual pose with cigarette between her lips, denoting great self-confidence, are also consonant with the model's image. As with most of the painter's works, it is difficult to date. Around 1922 or 1924, Van Dongen was in closest contact with Kiki's circle.