Tamara Lempicka 'Tamara de Lempicka' album, hand-signed by Marisa de Lempicka, 168 pp.
Text: Marisa de Lempicka, Maria Anna Potocka
Format: 240 × 300 mm
Number of pages: 168
Number of illustrations: 210
Language: Polish
Album dedicated to the life and work of Tamara Lempicka, hailed as the queen of art déco. The artist, from an early age, revolved in the company of the world's elite and flashed in the salons. She was a flashy scandalist who loved modern objects and enjoyed life to the fullest. Paris turned out to be a place that not only shaped her talent, but also allowed her to achieve dizzying success and gain clients in the form of aristocrats, bankers or movie stars. Lempicka, however, did not limit herself to painting portraits of personalities from the wealthy spheres; she also portrayed her daughter Kizette. The biggest scandalmongers posed for her, resulting in sensual nudes, including the art déco masterpiece Beauty of Raphaël. For years forgotten, today Lempicka's work has resurfaced in favor, and her paintings fetch dizzying prices at auction.
Undoubtedly, Tamara Lempicka had the ability to creatively interpret and enrich herself. All human needs manifested themselves in excess in her. Life was not a compromise with others - including those closest to her - but constituted sculptural material, which the artist shaped according to her ambition and emotional fantasies. The husband was to
play the role assigned to him, the child was to be obedient, lovers at her beck and call, critics delighted, luxuries as the norm. Tamara was aware that this earthly heaven was not won easily. The basis for success was trivial - you have to have money. But this was only the beginning. The most important tool was the preparation of one's own person. The artist of life had to be intriguing, witty, intelligent, surprising, fantastically dressed and unlike all the rest. He had to be desired like the most outstanding masterpiece. A being so beautifully crafted - on top of being beautiful by nature - could demand a lot for himself. (Excerpt from the text by M. A. Potocka).
