Dimensions: the set includes:
painting: 80 x 80 cm
pillow: 40 x 38 cm
signed and dated on the painting loom: 'Iwona | Demko 2023' and signed and described on the author's sticker on the reverse; on the pillow the author's label: 'Made by Iwona Demko'
Biography
In 1929, on a wave of artistic and financial success, Tamara Lempicka bought a studio apartment at 7 Méchain Street in the 14th district of Paris. The apartment was 152 square meters and had two levels. The studio, 6 meters high, was located downstairs. The townhouse was designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens, a pioneer of French modernism. Part of the interior decoration was done by Lempicka's sister Adrianna Gurwik-Górska (known as Górska de Montaut), who was the first woman to obtain an architect's diploma at the École Spéciale d'Architecture, authorizing her to practice (in 1928).
The painter oversaw every last detail in her apartment-studio. The house was a showcase of her refined style, and epitomized Tamara's lifestyle. The grandeur and opulent furnishings were meant to emphasize Lempicka's status as a popular portraitist of the Parisian elite and aristocratic circles.One of the specially designed elements was furniture upholstered in fabric with LT's initials.
The artist knew the importance of publicity and promotion, so she willingly posed in her atelier for photographs for various magazines. She also held exhibitions of new paintings in the atelier. A short documentary film with Tamara painting at her easel ("Un bel atelier moderne" from 1932) was filmed in the atelier. It was a model studio and at the same time a trend-setting apartment in modern interior design, one of the best examples of art déco decor. Today the apartment is privately owned.
Lempicka built her image, lifestyle and work in a thoughtful and consistent manner. She said:"There are no miracles, there is only what you make yourself."
The color scheme of the set (painting + pillow) with LT's initials was inspired by the painting "Portrait of Arlette Boucard" painted by Lempicka in 1928. In the original, the armchairs had brown upholstery with Lempicka's initials woven in white.
