Gabrielle Lespinasse

Gabrielle Lespinasse (* 1888 in Paris ; † around 1970 ; actually Gabrielle Depeyre ) was a muse of the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso . The secret affair, which both had from 1915 to 1916, was not made public until 1987 by the art historian John Richardson .

Life

Love affair with Picasso

The exact circumstances under which Lespinasse and Picasso met are not known. The affair between the 27-year-old and the artist six to seven years her senior began in the autumn of 1915. At that time, Picasso's second partner, Eva Gouel , was seriously ill with tuberculosis . Lespinasse lived on the top floor of a house on Boulevard Raspail, near the painter's studio. It is believed that she worked as a dancer at the Montparnasse cabaret . The critic and poet André Salmon claimed that he encouraged Picasso to see them sing and dance. The attractive Lespinasse Gouel resembled its appearance, as demonstrated by photographs taken by Picasso and portraits made by him. "Gaby," as Picasso called her, was "a great beauty, especially in profile, with her fluffy bangs, large, melancholy eyes and a wonderful, upturned nose [...] One of those laid-back, cat-like girls Colette dreamed of. “, Says the biographer and Picasso confidante John Richardson. The artist himself kept the affair a secret from Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas . Only the art critic Pierre Daix, who was friends with him, briefly mentions a "mysterious Madame L."

Eva Gouel's fatal illness is seen as one of the reasons for the secrecy. Another was the Frenchwoman's relationship with the Franco-American artist and poet Herbert Lespinasse (1884–1972), whose name she had already adopted before the marriage. The wealthy Herbert Lespinasse was one of the first artists to settle in the small port of Saint-Tropez on the French Mediterranean coast. His house there became the center of Parisian bohemianism . Picasso and his lover used it as a place to stay, as did many other artists and intellectuals who fled the French capital during the First World War . In November and December 1915, Picasso stayed there almost constantly to see Gabrielle Lespinasse. For fear of discovery, he avoided taking her to Céret , Sorgues or Avignon . His partner Eva Gouel died in mid-December 1915.

Picasso courted Lespinasse with naturalistic drawings and watercolors, mainly to please and flatter her rather than to further advance his art. On drawings and on many wooden frames, he left compromising messages of love that were intended only for her. Most of Picasso's messages in the drawings were later obscured before they were sold. In many cases only the dedication de tout mon cœur (English: “From all of my heart”) and Picasso's signature have been preserved. On a passe-partout of the collage of a rectangular text ( Je t'aime Gaby ) with an ornamental border, surrounded by four oval miniatures and two oval miniature photographs, there is a note with a short note by Picasso: J'ai demandé ta main au Bon Dieu. Paris February 22, 1916 (German: "I have asked God for your hand"). John Richardson assumes that the document probably represent the first serious marriage intentions of the self-declared atheist , who had previously strictly denied his faith and had never shown interest in marriage. In addition to the portraits, Picasso painted three watercolors of Provencal interiors (bedroom, dining room, kitchen), probably interior views of Lespinasse's house in Saint-Tropez, and made a necklace from painted wooden balls with various geometric motifs. The four miniature masterpieces on the marriage proposal (Richardson calls them whimsical ) were three oval, cubist still lifes and an allegorical portrait of the beloved. The only painting of significance was the traditionally designed picture of a peony from 1901.

Separation and disclosure of the affair

Lespinasse rejected Picasso's marriage proposal and married Herbert Lespinasse on April 23, 1917 in Saint-Tropez. After his failure in the spring of 1916, Picasso had an affair with the artist Irène Lagut , who, however, was also averse to his marriage ambitions. He later moved from Paris to Rome , where he met his first wife, the Russian ballet dancer Olga Chochlowa . In the late 1950s, John Richardson, former head of the US branch of Christie's auction house , first learned of the connection between Lespinasse and Picasso when the former lover offered some of her portraits on the art market. Attempts to get in touch with her personally, however, failed. Richardson then asked Picasso about the portraits and showed him photographs of them. "He was obviously delighted to see her, but annoyed to be reminded of an episode he'd decided to forget," said Richardson.

After the couple died in the early 1970s, Gabrielle Lespinasse's niece sold the pieces. The art collector and Picasso expert Douglas Cooper , who lives in Monte Carlo , came into possession of the legacy through the Parisian art dealer Daniel Malingue, which consisted of works of art, love letters from Picasso and official documents such as marriage and death certificates from Lespinasse. Cooper was reluctant to present the objects that were the only evidence of the affair and kept the property top secret. Only after his death in 1984 did his adoptive son William McCarty Cooper make the John Richardson collection accessible. This first presented them to the public in September 1987 in the October issue of the British magazine House & Garden . At the end of 1987 the collection was exhibited for the first time in the Kunstmuseum Basel and later in the London Tate Gallery .

In 1996, the play Picasso's Women by the playwright Brian McAvera, staged as a press conference, was broadcast in several parts on British radio, in which Picasso's former wives, models and lovers remember living with the artist in monologue form, including Gabrielle Lespinasse. In the spring of 2002, Picasso's Women premiered as a play in the UK, in which the American model Jerry Hall played the role of Lespinasse. The German premiere under the title Picassos Frauen took place at the beginning of January 2003 in the opera in Chemnitz , in which the actress Barbara Geiger took over the part of Lespinasse and directed it.

literature

• John Richardson: Picasso's Secret Love. Picasso's Secret Love . In: Catalog of the exhibition of the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Tate Gallery, London, Douglas Cooper and the Masters of Cubism , Basel Public Art Collection, Basel, 1987, pp. 183–196.
• John Richardson: Picasso: Life and Work; 1907-1917 . Kindler, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-463-40143-6 .
• Brian McAvera: Picasso's women . Oberon, London 1999, ISBN 1-870259-86-6 .
• Unknown Picasso lover . In: Der Spiegel . No. 40 , 1987, pp. 257 ( online ).
• Grace Glueck: Secret Picasso Affair Revealed . In: The New York Times , September 17, 1987, Section C, p. 21, Column 4, Cultural Desk
• Sidney Beat: Picasso, love and the Côte d'Azur . In: Cigar Clan , 4/2006

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d e f} Reported to PR Newswire, September 16, 1987
2. ^ ^{A b c d e} John Richardson: Picasso's Secret Love . Picasso's Secret Love . In: Douglas Cooper and the Masters of Cubism . Basel, 1987, pp. 183-196
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e} John Richardson: Picasso's Life: Draw and Peace . In: The Guardian , October 22, 1996, The Guardian Features Page, p. 2
4. ^ ^{A b c} Jack O'Sullivan: Picasso the seducer was more sinned against than sinning . In: The Independent , October 19, 1996, p. 3
5. ^ John Richardson, in: Douglas Cooper ... 1987, No. 66, pp. 191, 214f. Picasso made Demandé a top priority .
6. ^ ^{A b} Art Historian Uncovers Details of Picasso's Secret Affair . The Associated Press , September 16, 1987, New York, Domestic News
7. ↑ Grace Glueck: Secret Picasso Affair Revealed . In: The New York Times , September 17, 1987, Section C, p. 21, Column 4, Cultural Desk
8. ^ Michael Kimmelman: Rescuing Picasso From the Myths . In: The New York Times , December 8, 1996, Section 2, p. 41, Column 1, Arts and Leisure Desk
9. ↑ Hanns New Bourg: An Unknown Passionate Picasso . The Associated Press, December 28, 1987, Basel.
10. ^ Robert Hanks: Radio review . In: The Independent , May 15, 1996, Features, p. 26
11. ^ Hall's well that ends well . UK Newsquest Regional Press - This is Local London, February 15, 2002, News / Features
12. ↑ Picasso's women on stage for the first time . nmz.de, accessed on October 27, 2012