1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:12,639 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I'm Tracy Vie Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: We are just back from Paris. Indeed, I I'm sure 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:22,760 Speaker 1: Holly did this too. Of course. I came back from 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: Paris with a list of ideas for future episodes of 7 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: the podcast. Oh yeah, the list is long. Yeah, I'm 8 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: planning to spread mine out, so it's not just like 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: all nineteenth century France all the time, even though that 10 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: is fun. This is more more twentieth century than nineteen. 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: So when we had our trip to Paris, I went 12 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 1: out just a little early for a little extra time, 13 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: a little jet lag recovery before the trip officially started. 14 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: And one of the places I went during that time 15 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: was the music to Laurenrie and I and my husband 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: had been drawn there by Moonai's water lilies. But later 17 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: on in our visit, I found myself just totally spellbound 18 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: by five paintings by Parisian artist Marie Laurence San. These 19 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,120 Speaker 1: are in another part of the museum. All five of 20 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: them were of women and animals, with very simple and 21 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: willowy limes and this muted color palette of pink and 22 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: blue and green and gray, and they just seemed wistful 23 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: and ethereal, and I just loved them. The audio guide 24 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: had a little bit about what I was looking at 25 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:28,280 Speaker 1: and who painted them, but I really wanted to know 26 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,760 Speaker 1: more about this woman who had created these works, and 27 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: that proved to be a little trickier than I expected. 28 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: She produced a lot of work, and she was really 29 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: well known and internationally sought after in her time, but 30 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,119 Speaker 1: that is less true today. It is especially less true 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: outside of France. Her personal papers are in a French library, 32 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: but they have been censored, like with words physically cut 33 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: out of them, either by her or by somebody connected 34 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: to her estate, and then they can also only be 35 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: accessed with the Estates authorization. In One of the conditions 36 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: of that authorization is that unpublished material from her work 37 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 1: cannot be directly quoted. So her biography has not gotten 38 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: nearly as much in depth attention as some of her 39 00:02:13,400 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 1: contemporaries and a lot of what's there is in French, 40 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: and she also hasn't gotten as much attention from art 41 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: historians because some of the nature of her work, which 42 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: we will be talking about as well. That didn't make 43 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: any of this impossible. It just meant that when my 44 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: husband was at the fancy library helping me out with 45 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 1: getting me a book, and he sent me a photo 46 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:35,680 Speaker 1: of like, what would you like from this shelf, I 47 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: said everything in English, bring it all to me. It's 48 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: a little more challenging than normal, but not impossible. Still 49 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: laughing at that, uh So to begin. Marie Melanie lan 50 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: Sault was born in Paris on October three. I already 51 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 1: love her as a Halloween baby. Her mother, Pauline, may 52 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,640 Speaker 1: have had some Creel ancestry, and her father was a 53 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: government official named Alfred Toule. Pauline and Alfred were not married. 54 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,920 Speaker 1: Alfred was not particularly present in Marie's young life. She 55 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 1: actually didn't know he was her father until she was 56 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 1: in her twenties, and at that point he had died. 57 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: Although he didn't acknowledge Marie as his daughter, Alfred Touley 58 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: might have given the family some financial support. Pauline was 59 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 1: able to establish herself as a seamstress and an embroiderer 60 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,640 Speaker 1: and provide herself and her daughter with a pretty middle 61 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: class lifestyle. They lived in an apartment at the foot 62 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: of Melmarcha, usually with at least one cat, which is 63 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: another reason to love her. Of course, Pauline was very strict. 64 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: Gertrude Stein described her and Marie as being like a 65 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: pair of nuns living in a convent. Pauline also wanted 66 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: Marie to be educated and cultured. In Their apartment was 67 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:51,320 Speaker 1: filled with books, something that Marie would carry into her 68 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: adult life. She had a library of about five thousand 69 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: volumes by the time that she died. Marie and her 70 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: mother also took frequent trips to the loo and other museums. 71 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: Pauline loved to sing, and Marie loved to listen to her. 72 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: She would later say that without her mother's singing, she 73 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: probably never would have picked up a paintbrush. But otherwise 74 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: their life at home was very quiet and almost austere. 75 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:16,919 Speaker 1: Pauline was really hoping that Marie would grow up to 76 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: be a teacher, but Marie dashed that hope very thoroughly 77 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,040 Speaker 1: by coming in last in every subject at least a 78 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:28,280 Speaker 1: la Martine that included art. Glass. Although Marie was interested 79 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: in art from a young age, by the turn of 80 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: the century she was particularly drawn to the Impressionists. The 81 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 1: post Impressionists and the Fovists, including Cesan Renoir, Mane to 82 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:42,120 Speaker 1: lose L, Trek, and Matisse. She also wrote poems, some 83 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: of which were later published under the pseudonym Louise la Lane. 84 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 1: Without teaching as a possible way to support herself, Marie 85 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: turned to painting, specifically painting on porcelain through the sever 86 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,160 Speaker 1: Porcelain factory, and this was a challenging path for her. 87 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: She was extremely nearsighted, and eyeglasses were not fashionable in 88 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 1: Paris in the early twentieth century. Lawrenson used a lorgnette, 89 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 1: or a pair of lenses on a handle to look 90 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: at her work. She didn't let her vision keep her 91 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,400 Speaker 1: from doing anything, though. She enjoyed fencing, which she would 92 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: do with glasses in one hand and a foil in 93 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,120 Speaker 1: the other. This delighted Paul Pire, previous podcast subject, so 94 00:05:21,200 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: much that he made her a special costume to do 95 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,559 Speaker 1: it in and let her fence in his apartment. While 96 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: she was studying porcelain painting, Lawrencean was also attending regular 97 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: gatherings hosted by Natalie Barney, who had moved to Paris 98 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: from the United States. Barney was a writer, a poet, 99 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: and an heiress, and she hosted a salon in Paris's 100 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: Latin Quarter that was frequented by some of the city's 101 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:47,039 Speaker 1: most prominent artists, writers, musicians, and patrons. Barney was also 102 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: unapologetically publicly lesbian, a time when homosexuality was really heavily stigmatized. 103 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,520 Speaker 1: She was actually one of the inspirations for the character 104 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: of Valerie Seymour and Radcliffe Hall's The Well of Loneliness, 105 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,840 Speaker 1: which was one of the first lesbian novels written in English. 106 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: Barney had been nicknamed the Amazon after being seen riding 107 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 1: a horse by sitting astride it instead of side saddle. 108 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: When she first started the salon, she called it the 109 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: Salon of the Amazon and admitted only women. She held 110 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 1: other women only events as well, including all women pagan circles, 111 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:22,200 Speaker 1: and she later established a women's art academy since Lacademichon 112 00:06:22,320 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: says admitted only men, but eventually Barney made the Salon 113 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:29,679 Speaker 1: of the Amazon open to anyone regardless of gender. Laurence 114 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,800 Speaker 1: was a regular at the salon and at other gatherings 115 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,919 Speaker 1: at Barney's home. Pierre Louis, who was the author of 116 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:40,000 Speaker 1: Chanson Debilities, attended the salon as well. We talked about 117 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: Chansons Debilities recently in our Sappho episode, but just in 118 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: case you missed that one, this was a supposedly unearthed 119 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: set of erotic poems that were purportedly by one of 120 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: Sappho's students. They were really Pierre Louise's own creation, though. 121 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,680 Speaker 1: One of Lauren Stan's first produced works of art was 122 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:03,640 Speaker 1: an etching titled Chassons de bilitis, which she printed repeatedly 123 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:07,120 Speaker 1: in nineteen o four and nineteen o five, really experimenting 124 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,160 Speaker 1: with colors and techniques that she did it. This depicts 125 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:12,680 Speaker 1: two women kissing with an oil lamp that looks a 126 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: little bit like a waterfowl of some sort in the corner. 127 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 1: By the time she was doing this print work, Laura 128 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 1: Soa had decided to branch out from porcelain painting. She 129 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: started studying at the Academy Umbert, which was one of 130 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: the many art academies in the Mammothla district of Paris. 131 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: She learned drawing and printmaking and started meeting members of 132 00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:35,640 Speaker 1: the Parisian avant garde, including George Brack, with whom she 133 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: developed a very close friendship. Along with Pablo Picasso, Brock 134 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: was one of the founders of Cubism. Brock introduced Lawrence 135 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 1: Son to Picasso, and Picasso introduced her to Guillaume E 136 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: Pollinire around nineteen o seven, telling him that she would 137 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: make him a good fiance. A Pollonaire was eight years 138 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: older than Lawrence Son. Born in Rome as Wilhelm A 139 00:07:56,600 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: Pollonaire de Kastrovitsky, he was raised in various arts of 140 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: southern France before finally settling down in Paris. He and 141 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: Lauren Son had a lot in common. They were both 142 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: raised by unmarried mothers, both connected to Paris's avant garde community, 143 00:08:10,720 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: and both passionately creative on their own. They started in 144 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: intense and sometimes volatile relationship, both of them seeming to 145 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,600 Speaker 1: draw creative inspiration from each other and from the relationship itself. 146 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: Sometimes Laurence Sun is described as a Pollinaire's muse. That's 147 00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 1: something that was possibly inspired and definitely reinforced by Enri 148 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: Russo portrait of them, which is titled the Muse Inspiring 149 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 1: the Poet. This is actually the picture that is used 150 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,760 Speaker 1: for the artwork on our website for copyright reasons, meaning 151 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: it's the one we had access to because of copyright 152 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,240 Speaker 1: so if you come to our website, that is what 153 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:53,600 Speaker 1: you're seeing, not some of her own work. And it 154 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: is clear that a Polonaire's work was changed significantly while 155 00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: they were together. His early writings were explicit erotica, but 156 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: in nineteen o nine he published his first volume of poetry. 157 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,080 Speaker 1: He also became a literary and art critic, helping to 158 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,000 Speaker 1: define the Cubist movement and supporting the work of writers 159 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,360 Speaker 1: and painters all across the world of Parisian modern art. 160 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: A Pollinaire said Lawrence invented poetry for him, and he 161 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: described her as his feminine counterpart. But this was not 162 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: at all a one way street with Lawrence and just 163 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,560 Speaker 1: sort of passively inspiring a Polonaire to greatness merely by existing, 164 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: which is sort of how people imagine muses work. They 165 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 1: were both really drawing from and challenging each other, and 166 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: she was developing as an artist in her own right 167 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,839 Speaker 1: while they were together. These were really formative years for 168 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: Marine Lawrence. Her work through the nineteen teens was stylized 169 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: somewhat influenced by the Cubists. She was often working in 170 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,360 Speaker 1: color palettes that were dominated by a lot of brown, 171 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: and she was also exploring her technique through creating self portraits. 172 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,959 Speaker 1: She did at least thirty six self portraits during her lifetime, 173 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: those just being the ones that were titled as self portraits. 174 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,760 Speaker 1: A third of those were before nineteen fourteen. Laura Sun 175 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: continued to live with her mother during her study of 176 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: art and her relationship with a Pollonaire. And we'll get 177 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: into how these years unfolded after we first take up 178 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:24,800 Speaker 1: pause for a little sponsor break. The Parisian avant garde 179 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,079 Speaker 1: community of the nineteen hundreds and nineteen teens was really 180 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:32,400 Speaker 1: highly interconnected. Many painters also wrote poetry, and many poets 181 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 1: also painted or did some other visual or plastic art. 182 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: Artists and writers were gathering constantly in cafes and coffee 183 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 1: shops and galleries and people's homes. Laura Son was an 184 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: active and visible part of this scene, and although her 185 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: mother had her doubts about Marie's futurism artists, she hosted 186 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:54,040 Speaker 1: groups of cubists at their Mommota apartment. Laura San was 187 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: also frequently at the Bateau Levoi, where Picasso and other 188 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: cubists had their studios, and she was a regular at 189 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: some of the most influential literary salons in the city. 190 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:08,800 Speaker 1: She wasn't universally beloved by this community, though Polinaire praised 191 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: her work really effusively, to the point that people sometimes 192 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 1: thought that his feelings for her were coloring his judgment 193 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: about her work. But Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso's girlfriend 194 00:11:19,679 --> 00:11:23,480 Speaker 1: Fernand Olivier were both pretty dismissive and disparaging of her. 195 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,199 Speaker 1: Both Stein and Olivier wrote derisive accounts of an incident 196 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: in which Lawrence Son was drunk at a party. Olivier 197 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:34,960 Speaker 1: also called her affected and a bit silly, and claimed 198 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: that she was only successful because of her connection to 199 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: a Pollonaire. Stein implied that Lawrence Son didn't really fit 200 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: in with the rest of the community either, writing quote, 201 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:49,240 Speaker 1: everybody called Gertrude Stein, Gertrude or at most Mademoiselle Gertrude. 202 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:53,959 Speaker 1: Everybody called Picasso, Pablo and Fernand Fernand, and everybody called 203 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: Guillaume Apollinaire, Guillaume and Max Jacob Max. But everybody called 204 00:11:58,679 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: Marie Lawrence Son, Marie Lawrence. It's like the opposite of 205 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: the Madonna thing. She wants all the names. If you're 206 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 1: wondering why Gertrude Stein refers to herself in third person. 207 00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:12,400 Speaker 1: This is from the autobiography of Alice b Totalists, which 208 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,520 Speaker 1: was written that way. In nineteen o seven, with a 209 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:20,120 Speaker 1: Pollinaire's encouragement, Lawrence Son exhibited at the Salon. This was 210 00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 1: an annual exhibition of independent artists that was established in 211 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four after the official Salon held by the 212 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: Academy Royal repeatedly rejected the work of the Impressionists. The 213 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:34,640 Speaker 1: Academy Royal later became the Ecle de Bouzare, and this 214 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: was the first of many exhibitions for Lawrence Son. In 215 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,079 Speaker 1: nineteen o eight, Lawrence An sold her first piece of art, 216 00:12:41,160 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: which was a painting called Group of Artists. It depicts 217 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 1: the artist herself with Pablo Picasso and Fernando Olivier arranged 218 00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: around yelm Apollinaire. Also in the painting is Picasso's dog 219 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:57,319 Speaker 1: freaka Lawrence sounds buyer for this was past podcast subject 220 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: Gertrude Stein, and eventually Lawrencen would also paint a portrait 221 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 1: of one of Stein's dogs, that dog being Basket the Second. 222 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,480 Speaker 1: In nine, Lauren Son painted a larger version of a 223 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:12,559 Speaker 1: similar scene known as Reunion. In the Country or Apollinaire 224 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: and his Friends. This larger piece featured Gertrude Stein, Fernandolivier, 225 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,720 Speaker 1: and an unidentified third woman as the three graces. On 226 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: the left hand side of the frame. Gillam Pollinaire is 227 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,360 Speaker 1: roughly in the center, and to his right are Pablo Picasso, 228 00:13:27,679 --> 00:13:33,120 Speaker 1: Margharite Gio, Maurice Clemnitz, and Marie Laurenson herself. There is 229 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,679 Speaker 1: a dog in this painting as well, facing away from 230 00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:38,040 Speaker 1: the center of the frame, but with its head turned 231 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: back toward a Pollinaire. Lauren Son gave this one to 232 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 1: a Pollinaire as a gift, and it hung above his 233 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,599 Speaker 1: bed until his death. These two paintings are some of 234 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 1: the most examined in Lauren Sound's work, and they both 235 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: shared the influence of Cubism in her early painting, especially 236 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: the earlier years of Cubism before it progressed to being 237 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 1: just really abstract a lot of the time. They're both 238 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: very flat, with primitive times and lots of brown, gray 239 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: and black, and both of them show Lauren Son is 240 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,560 Speaker 1: part of this group that also included Pablo Picasso, but 241 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: while she was fascinated by the Cubists and was nicknamed 242 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: our Lady of Cubism. Lauren Son didn't really consider herself 243 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 1: to be a Cubist. She counted people like Picasso and 244 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 1: Matisse as contemporaries and credited them with teaching her what 245 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: she knew about art, but she also thought they would 246 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: be embarrassed by her association with them. On a side note, 247 00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 1: uh Pollinaire was his own potential source of embarrassment. On 248 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:36,120 Speaker 1: September seven, nineteen eleven, he was arrested for stealing the 249 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,480 Speaker 1: Mona Lisa from the Loop, which he had not done. However, 250 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: he and Picasso had gotten someone else to steal a 251 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: couple of ancient Iberian busts for them, which Picasso used 252 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 1: as models for his painting Demoiselle's Damon. Pollinaire tried to 253 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 1: anonymously return these busts, and that led to him being 254 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 1: held for six days for the unrelated Mona Lisa theft. 255 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: He wasn't ultimately prosecut you did for the theft of 256 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,040 Speaker 1: these busts, but this did put quite a bit of 257 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,520 Speaker 1: strain on his and Lawrence Son's relationship. In nineteen twelve, 258 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: Laurence was the only woman to be part of La 259 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: Maison Cubist, or the Cubist House, which was an art 260 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: installation for the nineteen twelve Salon d'atum. Like the Salon 261 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:20,800 Speaker 1: desde the Salon d'hotem had been established in response to 262 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: the conservatism of the Academy. The Cubist House was an 263 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: architectural installation with a facade full of angles and interior 264 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: rooms adorned with Cubist art. The response in the press 265 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:36,840 Speaker 1: was incredibly critical. This combination of a structure meant to 266 00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,600 Speaker 1: look like a family home filled with avant garde art 267 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,800 Speaker 1: really struck a nerve with the public. In the face 268 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: of all this criticism, Lawrence and a couple of other 269 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: women stood guard outside, armed with umbrellas. Laurence Son continued 270 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 1: to make connections and show her work. In the early 271 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: nineteen teens, she was part of the group of artists 272 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: known as the and she exhibited her work with them. 273 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: She had several pieces at the International Exhibition of Modern 274 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,120 Speaker 1: Art in New York City in nineteen thirteen, which came 275 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 1: to be known as the Armory Show. This was just 276 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:13,080 Speaker 1: a groundbreaking, an incredibly influential exhibition, and it was many 277 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: Americans first experience with modern art. Laurissa and a Pollinaire 278 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: ended their involvement in nineteen twelve or nineteen thirteen, after 279 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: about six years together. Although he had a reputation as 280 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,240 Speaker 1: a philanderer, they stayed in touch and apparently a Pollinaire 281 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:32,000 Speaker 1: thought they would get back together until nineteen fourteen. That's 282 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 1: when Lawrence sna married German artist Otto von Vettien. Lawrence 283 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: said Van Vettien reminded her of her mother, who had 284 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: died at about the same time that she broke up 285 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,200 Speaker 1: with a Pollinaire. This was a difficult year or so 286 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,920 Speaker 1: in her life, and this marriage wasn't particularly happy. World 287 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:52,040 Speaker 1: War One started while the two of them were on 288 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,400 Speaker 1: their honeymoon, and because von Vacken was German, they had 289 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,840 Speaker 1: to leave France. They went to Spain, which was neutral 290 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: during the war. Laurenrencen soon made connections among Spain's modern artists, 291 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,479 Speaker 1: particularly the dataists. She also had lots of letters from 292 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: France and visitors from time to time. One eagerly welcomed 293 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: visitor was fashion designer Nicole Grow, who was Paul Poiret's sister. 294 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: Laurence and gru had met in nineteen eleven and they 295 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: were extremely close for the rest of their lives, including 296 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,440 Speaker 1: a love affair during at least some of that time. 297 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,960 Speaker 1: Nicole's daughter Flora, was one of Marie Laurenson's first biographers, 298 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: and in eighteen Marie and Nichol's relationship was the subject 299 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:36,200 Speaker 1: of a novel, Ja antel dezier or I have such 300 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: a desire. While she wasn't totally cut off from her 301 00:17:39,119 --> 00:17:43,280 Speaker 1: friends in France, Laurencen desperately missed Paris and felt isolated 302 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: and depressed. Parts of the avant garde community had also 303 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,360 Speaker 1: really heavily criticized her for her split with the Pollinaire 304 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,400 Speaker 1: and her marriage to a German. She eventually broke off 305 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 1: from the Cubists, but she continued to work, and she 306 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: started to really establish some of the visual style that 307 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,040 Speaker 1: she became more known for, with lots of pinks and 308 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:03,200 Speaker 1: blues and greens rather than the browns that had dominated 309 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 1: a lot of her earlier work, and depictions of women 310 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: and animals more often than her depictions of men. Many 311 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:12,399 Speaker 1: of her wartime paintings also show how unhappy she was 312 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:16,840 Speaker 1: during these years, with elements that suggest being trapped or imprisoned. 313 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,400 Speaker 1: For example, the Prisoner shows a woman in blue looking 314 00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 1: out from behind flowing pink curtains, with a black pattern 315 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:26,720 Speaker 1: that resembles a chain link fence. While lauren Son was 316 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,560 Speaker 1: away from France, Guillonne Apollinaire died. He was injured in 317 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:33,760 Speaker 1: the war, and then he died of influenza. Van Vatkin 318 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,439 Speaker 1: also started abusing alcohol and lauren Son filed for divorce 319 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,199 Speaker 1: in nineteen nineteen. The split was apparently amicable, though they 320 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: stayed in touch until his death in nineteen two. Lauren 321 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:47,320 Speaker 1: Son was finally able to return to France in nineteen 322 00:18:47,359 --> 00:18:50,920 Speaker 1: twenty one. A year later, she underwent surgery to treat 323 00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: stomach cancer and she also had a hys directomy. Back 324 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 1: in France, Laurencen secured the representation of influential art dealer 325 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 1: Paul Rosenberg, who also represented people like Pablo Picasso and 326 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: Ari Maatisse. Rosenberg would continue to be her art dealer 327 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,040 Speaker 1: until nineteen forty, when he had to flee France in 328 00:19:09,119 --> 00:19:12,159 Speaker 1: the face of the Nazi occupation. From her return to 329 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: France until about nineteen thirty seven, Laurencen was at the 330 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,679 Speaker 1: height of her career. Her work was exhibited in London, Paris, 331 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:23,000 Speaker 1: and New York, and she was financially successful through commissions 332 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: and the sale of her work. She continued to work 333 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,119 Speaker 1: mainly in pinks, blues, grays, and greens, often depicting women 334 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:34,520 Speaker 1: and girls in dreamy, slightly unreal settings. At one point 335 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,400 Speaker 1: she said, quote why should I paint dead fish, onions 336 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: and beer glasses? Girls are so much prettier. In the 337 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:43,720 Speaker 1: words of an art critic quoted in her obituary in 338 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: The New York Times, quote she can paint a girl 339 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 1: with eyes like a dough, and a dough with eyes 340 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: like a girl. Laurence then also started working as a 341 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,680 Speaker 1: portrait artist, and she was successful enough to be selective 342 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,000 Speaker 1: about who she painted, although her dealer repeatedly had to 343 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,600 Speaker 1: discourage her from just giving her paintings way to people 344 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,520 Speaker 1: that she liked. She reportedly charged men more than she 345 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: charged women, and because she found blonde women to be 346 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:10,240 Speaker 1: the most inspiring, she charged brunette's more than blonde's. She 347 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 1: would also only paint children if she liked them. One 348 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,240 Speaker 1: of her most famous paintings is a French fashion designer 349 00:20:16,560 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: Coco Chanelle, done early in lauren Son's career as a 350 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: portrait artist. This is one of the paintings in the 351 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: music de Lauringerie. Chanel is draped in blue and black 352 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,080 Speaker 1: with a dog on her lap. She has her head 353 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:32,280 Speaker 1: resting in her hand and she looks somewhere between wistful 354 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: and pensive. Another dog is in the background, along with 355 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 1: a gray dove. Lauren Son's portraits followed the same style 356 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:41,520 Speaker 1: as the rest of her art that she was doing 357 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: around this time, so they were not really realistic likenesses 358 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,560 Speaker 1: of her subjects and their clothing. So when she saw 359 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,359 Speaker 1: this painting, Chanelle refused to pay for it because it 360 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: didn't look like her. Then lauren Son refused to do 361 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:56,439 Speaker 1: it over and kept the original for herself. In spite 362 00:20:56,600 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: of this inauspicious start, Laura Sanna became famous and sought 363 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: after for these pastels simplified portraits. People would arrive to 364 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: be painted wearing couture ensalms, only for Laurensan to cover 365 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,159 Speaker 1: them up with scarves and drapes that she had around 366 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:15,000 Speaker 1: for that purpose. She also had romantic relationships with many 367 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: of her subjects, regardless of their gender, and she did 368 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: a lot besides paintings and portraits of the nineteen twenties 369 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:22,640 Speaker 1: and thirties, I mean she did a lot of those, 370 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,600 Speaker 1: but other work as well. In nineteen four she designed 371 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:30,000 Speaker 1: the costumes and sets for the ballet Russ's Labiche or 372 00:21:30,080 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 1: the Does by Sergei Diaghilev. When this ballet was staged 373 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,720 Speaker 1: in the United States, dancing in the principal role was 374 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:41,400 Speaker 1: past podcast subject Maria's Hall Chief. Lauren San also designed 375 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,239 Speaker 1: costumes and sets for the comedy Francaise, which is one 376 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: of France's state theaters. Laura San was a book illustrator 377 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,680 Speaker 1: as well. Just as a few examples. In nineteen thirty 378 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: she drew a set of illustrations for an edition of 379 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,879 Speaker 1: Alice in Wonderland. She also illustrated The Garden Party and 380 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:01,520 Speaker 1: Other Stories by Catherine Mansfield and an American edition of 381 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:05,399 Speaker 1: Camille by Alexander du Mafis. That last one drew some 382 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,400 Speaker 1: criticism because all twelve of the illustrations she created were 383 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: of the book's main character, Marguerite Gautier. In nineteen thirty one, 384 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:16,280 Speaker 1: she became a founder member of the French Society of 385 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,200 Speaker 1: Women Modern Artists. She taught at Via Malakoff from nineteen 386 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:22,879 Speaker 1: thirty two to nineteen thirty five, and she managed to 387 00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,479 Speaker 1: stay financially afloat even during the Great Depression. In nineteen 388 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:29,720 Speaker 1: thirty seven, a retrospective of Laurens Soun's work was held 389 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,720 Speaker 1: at the Great Exhibition of Independent Art Masters at the 390 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: Petit Palais in Paris. She also finally started wearing glasses 391 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 1: that year, and it's around this time that her career 392 00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:43,360 Speaker 1: started to slow. More about that. After another quick sponsor 393 00:22:43,440 --> 00:22:52,879 Speaker 1: break when World War Two started in Europe, Marie Lawrence 394 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:57,040 Speaker 1: stayed in Paris. She published a semi autobiographical collection of 395 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 1: poetry and prose in nineteen forty two that was called 396 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:04,199 Speaker 1: Lecarnet Denuet, and although she continued to work in visual art, 397 00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: her output slowed down. As we said earlier, most critics 398 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 1: consider her work at this point to be a repeat 399 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,240 Speaker 1: of the techniques and themes that she was developing earlier 400 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,560 Speaker 1: in her career, rather than experimenting or breaking new ground. 401 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:20,399 Speaker 1: She did start to use some darker, brighter colors rather 402 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:22,600 Speaker 1: than the pastels that had become her hallmark in the 403 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties and thirties, and this change and palette may 404 00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:29,119 Speaker 1: have been connected to the ongoing deterioration of her vision. 405 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: Although she was able to stay in Paris, Germans requisitioned 406 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: her apartment during the occupation and she stayed with friends 407 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:38,719 Speaker 1: for the duration of the war. Some of her art 408 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: was branded degenerate or looted by Nazis. Her politics during 409 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 1: this time seemed to have been contradictory. She was part 410 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 1: of an intellectual scene that had lots of connections to 411 00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,480 Speaker 1: the Visi government, and in some ways Laurence was complicit 412 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: with them and with German authorities. At the same time, 413 00:23:56,359 --> 00:23:59,639 Speaker 1: she tried to personally intervene to save her friend Max Jacob, 414 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: who was a poet and a painter. Jacob was of 415 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 1: Jewish ancestry but had converted to Catholicism. He was ultimately 416 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: deported to a concentration camp, and he died in nineteen 417 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:12,760 Speaker 1: forty four. When France was liberated at the end of 418 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: World War Two, Laurence Son was arrested as part of 419 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,600 Speaker 1: the wave of arrests and purges known as the Operation 420 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:23,440 Speaker 1: or Purification. She was briefly incarcerated at dancing and tournament camp, 421 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: but was ultimately exonerated and released. After the war, Laurence 422 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:31,280 Speaker 1: Son was prone to cycles of depression and isolation. Her 423 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:35,200 Speaker 1: closest companion became Susanne Moreau, who had originally been her maid. 424 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: It is not entirely clear if the two of them 425 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: were romantically involved, or if Laurencen was more like Moreau's 426 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,919 Speaker 1: surrogate mother. But they were together for almost twenty years. 427 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: Laurensn legally adopted Moreau in nineteen fifty four, when she 428 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,399 Speaker 1: was seventy and Moreau was forty nine. In nineteen fifty 429 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,440 Speaker 1: Lawrence Son produced a series of twenty three etchings for 430 00:24:56,520 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 1: an illustrated collection of Sappho's poetry, which had been trans 431 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:03,280 Speaker 1: lated by Edith de Beaumont in her earlier book. Illustrations 432 00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,959 Speaker 1: her were contended to resemble her paintings, with similarly flowing 433 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: lines and pastel palettes. These Sappho illustrations, though, are still 434 00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:15,240 Speaker 1: flowing in style, but with a much simpler black and 435 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: white design. Marie Laurenson died of a heart attack at 436 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:23,400 Speaker 1: her home in Paris on June eight. She was seventy two. 437 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:27,760 Speaker 1: She was buried in Paralysches Cemetery, and at her request, 438 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,679 Speaker 1: she was dressed in white, with a rose in her 439 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: hand and her love letters from Guioma Pollinaire close to 440 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:35,920 Speaker 1: her heart. I think one of my few regrets about 441 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: our trip to Paris is that I didn't realize until 442 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:42,360 Speaker 1: after we were back all of these things about Marie Laurenson, 443 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: including her burial at parlashes because we were there, but 444 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:47,960 Speaker 1: hers is not one of the graves that we went to. 445 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,400 Speaker 1: There are so many things to look at in paralyses. 446 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,000 Speaker 1: You cannot fault yourself for missing anything. Well, you could 447 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: be there really all days long. And I think at 448 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: that point, like because that was one of the things 449 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,600 Speaker 1: that we sort of did on one of our free 450 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:05,880 Speaker 1: days while we were in Paris, and at that point, 451 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: I think she was written in my list of ideas 452 00:26:08,840 --> 00:26:11,600 Speaker 1: for podcast episodes for after the show as something like 453 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:14,840 Speaker 1: that painter from the Orange Ury, Like I didn't even 454 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,560 Speaker 1: have her name clearly affixed in my mind yet. So anyway, 455 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:21,520 Speaker 1: although she had been well known and sought after during 456 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:25,280 Speaker 1: her lifetime, her reputation faded pretty quickly after her death. 457 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: She left instructions to Moreau not to sell her paintings 458 00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:31,160 Speaker 1: or to allow people to research her. So it wasn't 459 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,600 Speaker 1: really until the nineties seventies, which I think was after 460 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,880 Speaker 1: Moreau's death and when there was renewed interest in women's 461 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,960 Speaker 1: and LGBT history, that people started researching her life and 462 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: seeking out more of her work, especially outside of France. 463 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:46,399 Speaker 1: The nature of her work also may have acted as 464 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: a deterrent for biographers and art historians. There was a 465 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: decorative element to Lauren Sounds paintings. She didn't push boundaries 466 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:56,880 Speaker 1: in the same way that many of her contemporaries did. 467 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,560 Speaker 1: Many of the Cubists who were so important to Aurasn's 468 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,960 Speaker 1: early development and artistic network were creating work that was 469 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: increasingly abstract, and Laura Sna, on the other hand, ultimately 470 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 1: broke away from the Cubists, and she painted in a 471 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:13,800 Speaker 1: way that was pretty and appealing. She wanted to make 472 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,879 Speaker 1: art that people would enjoy looking at. Added to that, 473 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:21,920 Speaker 1: Laura Son and her work were explicitly intentionally feminine given 474 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:25,600 Speaker 1: the gender standards of the day, Her pastel color palette 475 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:30,360 Speaker 1: and willowy fluid lines impressed people as just intrinsically female, 476 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: and this made it really easy to write her off 477 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,760 Speaker 1: as just girl stuff rather than as a serious work 478 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: of art that was full of nuance and symbolism and 479 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:42,920 Speaker 1: subtlety and sometimes humor. She clearly had an affinity for 480 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:45,480 Speaker 1: women in her work in her life as well, and 481 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,359 Speaker 1: that was something that earlier art historians seemed really reluctant 482 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: to explore because of all the stigma surrounding lesbianism and bisexuality. 483 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,159 Speaker 1: Because so much of the interest in two women's are 484 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,080 Speaker 1: in the nineteen seventies was coming from the feminist movement, 485 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 1: Laura's has own preferences and opinions complicated things as well. 486 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:09,280 Speaker 1: She really favored one type of model, one who was young, white, fair, 487 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,239 Speaker 1: and slender, and she also believed that women and men 488 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:16,000 Speaker 1: were fundamentally different, and that women's art was fundamentally different 489 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,920 Speaker 1: from men's art. She said quote, if I feel so 490 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:21,920 Speaker 1: far removed from painters, it is because they are men, 491 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,080 Speaker 1: and in my view, men are difficult problems to solve. 492 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,400 Speaker 1: But if the genius of men intimidates me, I feel 493 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,200 Speaker 1: perfectly at ease with everything that is feminine. That made 494 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: her a less appealing subject of study in the context 495 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: of a movement for women's empowerment, autonomy, equality and independence. 496 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: As a counterpoint to that idea, though, Marie Laura Saw 497 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,840 Speaker 1: was one of very few women artists to hold her 498 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: own in the male dominated world of French modernists. Although 499 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: she was connected to the Cubists and her early work 500 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:56,120 Speaker 1: show some Cubist influence, she ultimately broke away from all 501 00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:00,560 Speaker 1: that and developed her own distinct unapologetically feminist, and that 502 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:04,520 Speaker 1: was transgressive in its own way. There's been more interest 503 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: in Marie Laurenson's life and work in Europe and North 504 00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:11,240 Speaker 1: America over the past few decades, but she's been especially 505 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 1: beloved in Japan. Japanese collector Masahiro Takano developed an interest 506 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:18,440 Speaker 1: in her work and acquired a huge amount of it, 507 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,360 Speaker 1: founding the Marie Laurensa Museum in Nagano, Japan, which first 508 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,600 Speaker 1: opened in nineteen eighty three to mark her one dredth birthday. 509 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: At the time, it was the only museum in the 510 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 1: world dedicated to the work of a woman artist. The 511 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:37,160 Speaker 1: museum closed in twenty eleven for financial reasons. Pictures from 512 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:39,720 Speaker 1: the museum were part of a temporary exhibition at the 513 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: muse Marmota Monet in Paris. After that, the Marie Laurensan 514 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: Museum reopened in Tokyo in July. Unfortunately, it closed again 515 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,400 Speaker 1: on January fourteen. When I was looking at the website 516 00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:58,880 Speaker 1: for it, because sometimes I am calendar challenged. Somehow I 517 00:29:58,960 --> 00:30:03,040 Speaker 1: thought January four teenth, nineteen had not happened yet, and 518 00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,520 Speaker 1: I was like, I got to go to Japan right now, 519 00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:09,600 Speaker 1: And then I realized six months already too late, but yeah, 520 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 1: it uh. The wording suggests that that there maybe like 521 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,000 Speaker 1: a future exhibition at some point in the in the future, 522 00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 1: and it's also clear that the people who have all 523 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: this art of hers really love it and her caring 524 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: for it, so maybe it will be on public view 525 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: somewhere at some point in the future. Um. Anyway, I 526 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:36,080 Speaker 1: love her. Yeah, she's great. I her art is very pretty. 527 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: It's not my jam, but I appreciate it and think 528 00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: it's beautiful. Yeah, it's uh, I definitely. I kind of 529 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:44,040 Speaker 1: came around a corner where all five of the paintings 530 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,720 Speaker 1: that were on display all were and I was immediately like, 531 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:52,479 Speaker 1: I am here for this. Yeah. That's the beautiful thing 532 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:56,960 Speaker 1: about artists when you have that like visceral just unexplainable 533 00:30:57,000 --> 00:30:59,239 Speaker 1: emotional reaction to it. That is why I love art 534 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 1: so much. And there's also we'll have a link in 535 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:04,320 Speaker 1: the show notes to the episode. Because we couldn't personally 536 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: put some of her artwork onto our website, we will 537 00:31:08,160 --> 00:31:10,920 Speaker 1: have a link to the museum's page on her that 538 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: has um all all five I think of the paintings 539 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,040 Speaker 1: that you can look at there, I think they're really beautiful. 540 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: Do you have a little bit of listener mail? I do. First, 541 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,760 Speaker 1: I want to thank everyone who has updated me on 542 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:27,680 Speaker 1: where to find Krispy Kreme in New England. Uh. Some 543 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: of these Krispy Kreme locations have opened up since the 544 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,200 Speaker 1: day that I looked and went ah Man, the closest 545 00:31:33,280 --> 00:31:35,320 Speaker 1: is in New York City. And then some of them 546 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:39,360 Speaker 1: either um, either the store locator was lying to me 547 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 1: about where they were, or I was thinking, I'm never 548 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 1: in that part of Connecticut. I'll have to wait till 549 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,760 Speaker 1: I'm in New York. But anyway, we've gotten a number 550 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: of letters from folks telling me about various places in 551 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: Connecticut and Maine to get Krispy Kreme donuts. Thank you. Uh. 552 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: And then I have this email from Carrie. Carrie's is 553 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: good morning, Trace and Holly. I just finished listening to 554 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:04,880 Speaker 1: your Red Summer episode, and I'm appalled and embarrassed. This 555 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: will probably end up being a longer letter than I 556 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,960 Speaker 1: intended to. The short version is thank you. I lived 557 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,600 Speaker 1: Interer near Washington, d C. Until I was in my thirties. 558 00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,880 Speaker 1: I loved my history classes growing up. I'd never ever 559 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,600 Speaker 1: heard anything about what happened in the summer of nineteen 560 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: when I was trying to figure out why, I think 561 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:23,200 Speaker 1: I nailed it, and it highlights why podcasts like yours 562 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:27,520 Speaker 1: are so important. I remember very clearly learning about Colonial America, 563 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:31,320 Speaker 1: the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, reconstruction, and then there's 564 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,760 Speaker 1: a gap. I learned a bit about the Great Depression, 565 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:36,280 Speaker 1: a little bit about World War One, a fair bit 566 00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: about World War Two, and key presidencies like Nixon and Kennedy. 567 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,600 Speaker 1: I learned about the civil rights movement in the sixties, 568 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:45,960 Speaker 1: but it honestly came across as a somewhat isolated set 569 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: of events. That gap, while as a kid was seemingly 570 00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,120 Speaker 1: insignificant at the time, is really telling. I went to 571 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,520 Speaker 1: a mostly white, suburban high school in Virginia. My history 572 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,719 Speaker 1: classes taught me that the Civil War wasn't really about slavery, 573 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,400 Speaker 1: but about trade in Maryland. I learned that Maryland's lawmakers 574 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:04,640 Speaker 1: were trying to be peacekeepers and that's why they didn't 575 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,480 Speaker 1: succeed from the Union. I knew my history classes were 576 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,360 Speaker 1: whitewashed and and true, but I'm truly disheartened and saddened 577 00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:12,720 Speaker 1: that I wasn't taught any of the material in this podcast. 578 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:15,240 Speaker 1: I didn't know that it happened. It put things into 579 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 1: perspective for me when I'm embarrassed to say that I 580 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: didn't put these pieces together before. Now it's sort of 581 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: this gap in my head between historical America and modern 582 00:33:23,640 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: day America. That gap is exactly this post reconstruction, pre 583 00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:31,000 Speaker 1: World War One gap that's so so important to understanding 584 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:33,480 Speaker 1: a lot of today's politics and the struggle of black 585 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:36,520 Speaker 1: and other minority Americans. It's a whole generation of people 586 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: who were quite actively and horribly oppressed that I didn't 587 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: realize existed anyway. Thank you. I feel like I owe 588 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: the world on apology for my lack of understanding. And 589 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,760 Speaker 1: then Carrie sent some pictures of cats. Always happy to 590 00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: get cat pictures. Thank you so much, Carrie. I wanted 591 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: to read this email because I really feel like it 592 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: is the same experience that a whole lot of people 593 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:01,720 Speaker 1: have had in history class. I know it's my experience 594 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 1: um in history class. I honestly don't recall whether my 595 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:09,560 Speaker 1: history classes in North Carolina taught that the Civil War 596 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,239 Speaker 1: wasn't really about slavery, but it was obvious to me 597 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,400 Speaker 1: as a child that it was. So it's like I 598 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:19,000 Speaker 1: don't know that I was just reading between the lines 599 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 1: of the textbook or if the textbook actually said that, um, 600 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,239 Speaker 1: But otherwise, like, this is a d percent what my 601 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:29,640 Speaker 1: American history class was like. And I talked to so 602 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:34,319 Speaker 1: many other people who that's exactly what they're there. Their 603 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 1: American History classes were like, so don't don't feel apolit 604 00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: and embarrassed. It's like so common, especially among folks that 605 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 1: are maybe a little older on the the spectrum of 606 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,320 Speaker 1: when we were in middle and high school. UM. I 607 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:55,319 Speaker 1: think a lot of classes are doing a better job 608 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:57,759 Speaker 1: of this now. But I feel like whenever we are 609 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: doing live shows and somebody asks us, like, what's one 610 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:03,040 Speaker 1: of the most important things that we've learned while working 611 00:35:03,080 --> 00:35:06,840 Speaker 1: on this show, one of my answers is usually that, like, 612 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:11,600 Speaker 1: I learned slavery and the Civil rights movement as like 613 00:35:11,719 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: these two totally disconnected events without the progression of everything 614 00:35:18,640 --> 00:35:21,279 Speaker 1: that happened in between them, as like one long continuum. 615 00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:24,200 Speaker 1: So thank you so much. I really appreciated this letter. 616 00:35:24,440 --> 00:35:27,839 Speaker 1: And uh, I have a feeling that we have lots 617 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:32,040 Speaker 1: of other folks in the audience who identify with it, um, 618 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: which is a huge disservice to all of our collective 619 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,600 Speaker 1: understanding if you would like to write to us about 620 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 1: this or any other podcast or at history podcasts at 621 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,000 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com, and then we are all 622 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:45,680 Speaker 1: over social media at missed in History. That is where 623 00:35:45,719 --> 00:35:49,200 Speaker 1: you will find our Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. You 624 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: can come to our website, which is missing history dot com, 625 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:53,800 Speaker 1: where you will find show notes for all the episodes 626 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: that Holly and I haven't worked on together with today's, 627 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,759 Speaker 1: including a link to paintings by Marie Lauren Sont. You 628 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,680 Speaker 1: will also find a searchable archive of every episode ever, 629 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:05,560 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple, podcast, 630 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, and wherever else you get 631 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:15,600 Speaker 1: your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class is a 632 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radios How stuff Works. For more 633 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,439 Speaker 1: podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 634 00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,640 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows