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Thread: Suzanne Valadon (1865-1938) was one of the greatest & least known French artists. An independent woman who taught herself to paint, she befriended the greatest artists of the day & was respected by them. Hers was a unique & authentic vision. 
She was raised in great poverty by her mother, a laundress, & she left school by the age of 11. At 18 she had a child, the artist Maurice Utrillo. Valadon made a living by being an artist’s model (as well as bouts as an acrobat & milliner). She made her way by herself.
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Valadon was exceptionally successful as an artist’s model. She was painted by Morisot, Renoir & Puvis de Chavannes, as well as Toulouse Lautrec. Valadon by Renoir (1885 & c1882) & Toulouse Lautrec (c1888 & 1885)
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She became friends with Toulouse-Lautrec - who leant her books & showed her how to paint (he was sound & some say they were lovers). Self-portrait (1898). Her independence & character must have appealed to her painters.
In 1893 she had an affair with the composer Erik Satie. He was obsessed with her, she left him. Around this time Degas saw her artwork & encouraged her. Degas was not the easiest nut to crack, so this was high praise. Erik Satie (1892)
Valadon married a stockbroker in 1895 & lived with him for 13y. The dealer Durand-Ruel exhibited her work in 1895. From that time she was able to devote herself, full time, to her art. Dog (1905), After the Bath (1908), The Bath (1908) & Woman with a Double Bass (1908)
Valadon exhibited at the Salon d’Automne from 1909 & the Salon des Independants from 1911. Adam & Eve (1909), Nude at the Mirror (1909) & Woman from the Back (1910). She was unusual in being a working class woman scaling the intimidating walls of high art.
She married one of her son’s friends (1914) & he managed her & her son’s careers. Still Life with Flowers & Fruit (1910), Joy of Life (1911) & Church at Belgodere, Corsica (1913)
Valadon followed Degas’ dictum of observation & description. She avoided ‘elegant’ poses & chose the ungainly. She wished to depict life as it really was. Marie Coca & her Daughter (1913), Woman at her Toilette (1913) & Casting the Net (1914)
She was particularly adept at painting landscapes. Her woodland image is striking in its authentic description & mood. Roses in a Vase (1914), In the Woods (1915) & Landscape, View from the Rue Cortot (1916)
She painted women, as they were, not as objects - but as humans. Valadon revelled in the depiction of the ridiculousness of human flesh & thus its veracity. Nude Seated on a Couch (1916), Nude with Boots (1916) & Self-Portrait (1916)
She reserved prettiness for flowers. Rarely does she set out to flatter or search for the ideal. Later Lucian Freud would mine the same terrain. Three Dancers (1916), Vase of Flowers (1916), Madame Coquiot (1918) & Self Portrait (1917)
Her still-lives are reminiscent of Gaugin. She also painted her pets, especially her cats. Still Life (1918), Study of a Cat (1918) & Two Cats (1918). These pictures hint at her sense of humour. The former acrobat took life with panache.
Her reclining women refuse to ape Titian. Instead we have sagging flesh, ruddy skin & exhausted models. This is real life, she seems to sigh, with a wry smile. Woman reclining on a Sofa (1917-8), Bouquet of Flowers (1919) & Nude Reclining on a Sofa (1919)
Her image of Victorine demonstrates her empathy & in her fellow-feeling we seem to see her own empathy with the model she once was. Nudes (1919), Nude Woman with Drapery (1919) & Victorine (1919). Valadon’s women are presented with psychological insight.
Given the endless hours she posed for men, managing bizarre & ‘Grecian’ poses, its no surprise that she sought to present women slouching, lolling & generally indifferent. Nude Fixing her Hair (1920), Louson & Raminou (1920) & Nude Standing in Front of Curtains (1921)
As her artistic confidence developed she became more relaxed in presenting her own vision with greater facility & assurance. Still Life with Candlestick (1921), Woman with Guitar (1921) & Alder in the Meadow (1922)
I love her Blue Room. This is an image of heft & presence. Here, Valadon assures us, is a real woman, a woman with her own agency. The Blue Room (1923), Woman in White Stockings (1924) & Acrobat (1927)
Her honesty in her self-portraits is fantastic. Like Rembrandt she sets out to describe & achieves that as well as a charismatic image. Bouquet of Tulips (1927), L’arbi et la Misse (1927) & Self-Portrait (1927)
She divorced in 1934 & died in 1938, aged 72. By this time her character & art was admired by Picasso, Derain & Braque. Bathers on the Bank of a River (c1928), Bouquet of Parma Violets (1928) & Nude Seated on a Bed (1929)
Valadon, nowadays, is the subject of much feminist art history. However to restrict her life to the politics of sexuality is to undermine her importance as an artist of authentic emotion. Still Life (1936), Self-Portrait (1931) & Still Life (1937). Search her out!
