Marie Laurencin: Pioneer of Feminine Cubism

Marie Laurencin (31 October 1883 – 8 June 1956) was a French painter and printmaker. She became an important figure in the Parisian avant-garde as a member of the Cubists associated with the Section d’Or.

Early Life and Education

Laurencin was born in Paris on 31 October 1883. Her mother, Pauline-Mélanie Laurencin, was an unmarried domestic servant; her father, fiscal administrator Alfred-Stanislas Toulet, visited during her childhood and funded her education. Although never confirmed, Laurencin believed she had Creole heritage through her maternal grandmother, an identity she maintained throughout her life. At 18, she studied porcelain painting in Sèvres before returning to Paris to pursue oil painting at the Académie Humbert.

Career and Achievements

During the early 20th century, Laurencin emerged as a central figure in Parisian artistic circles. She moved among the circle of Pablo Picasso and Cubists including Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Robert Delaunay, Henri le Fauconnier, and Francis Picabia. She exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants (1910–1911), the Salon d’Automne (1911–1912), and Galeries Dalmau in Barcelona (1912), which hosted the first Cubist exhibition in Spain.

Laurencin became romantically involved with poet Guillaume Apollinaire and is often identified as his muse. She maintained important connections to Natalie Clifford Barney’s salon and had relationships with both men and women. Her art reflected her life through what critics described as “balletic wraiths” and “sidesaddle Amazons,” offering a distinctive “queer femme with a Gallic twist.” She shared a forty-year love relationship with fashion designer Nicole Groult.

During World War I, Laurencin left France for Spain with her German-born husband, artist Baron Otto von Waëtjen. Through marriage, she automatically lost her French citizenship. The couple lived briefly in Düsseldorf before divorcing in 1920, after which she returned to Paris. She achieved financial success as an artist until the economic depression of the 1930s, when she worked as an art instructor at a private school.

Notable Events and Milestones

Laurencin was recognized as one of the few female Cubist painters, alongside Sonia Delaunay, Marie Vorobieff, and Franciska Clausen. In a 1923 interview, she distanced herself from Cubism, stating: “Cubism has poisoned three years of my life, preventing me from doing any work. […] As long as I was influenced by the great men surrounding me, I could do nothing.”

Her work shows influence from Picasso and Georges Braque, her close friend, but she developed a unique approach centered on groups of women and animals. Originally influenced by Fauvism, she simplified her forms through Cubist techniques while pursuing a specifically feminine aesthetic using pastel colors and curvilinear forms. From 1910, her palette consisted mainly of grey, pink, and pastel tones. Upon her return to Paris in the 1920s, her style evolved further: muted colors and geometric patterns gave way to light tones and undulating compositions. Her signature motif became willowy, ethereal female figures rendered in soft pastels, evoking an enchanted world. She continued exploring themes of femininity and feminine representation until her death on 8 June 1956.

Awards and Honors

On the 100th anniversary of her birth in 1983, the Musée Marie Laurencin opened in Nagano, Japan, founded by Masahiro Takano. It remains the only museum in the world dedicated solely to the work of a female painter, housing over 600 pieces. In 2023, the Barnes Foundation opened a retrospective titled “Marie Laurencin: Sapphic Paris.”

Additional Resources

Laurencin’s work appears in major collections worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. Readers seeking deeper insight into her life and artistic practice will find comprehensive biographical and critical material available through Wikipedia and museum archives.

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