Dora Maar, Pink Thought, Mixed Media on Paper, 1950s

Description

Pink thought, beautiful black frame 1930 abstract work by dora maar period after picasso,these works depict the states of mind … more Pink thought, beautiful black frame 1930 abstract work by dora maar period after picasso,these works depict the states of mind and mental landscapes of artist dora maar (paris 1907 - 1997) born henrietta theodora markovitch, dora maar is a french photographer, painter and poet whose career and achievements were overshadowed, while she was alive, by her relationship with pablo picasso. Her work was rediscovered and reevaluated after her death. Maar, a french mother and croatian father, spent his childhood in buenos aires, where his father worked as an architect. In the early 1920s he returned to paris, where he attended various art institutes, including the académie julian and andré lhote's atelier. In the early 1930s she embarked on a career as a photographer, shared a studio with set designer pierre kéfer, met man ray, and adopted the name dora maar. The 1930s, characterized by a severe economic crisis, represented a favorable period for the development of "street photography." maar's attention is captured by beggars, vagrants and single mothers with young children, whom she portrays with deep humanity. She works in fashion and advertising, but her network of acquaintances quickly expands and by 1935 she is a full member of the surrealist movement, actively sharing its leftist political commitment, photographing many of its artists, exhibiting with them (she is one of the very few women allowed) and forging strong ties with andré breton, paul éluard and georges bataille. Her work begins to take on the dreamlike, dark and sometimes distressing characteristics typical of surrealism. The dream world, childlike art, the primitive, eroticism and the disturbing distortion of the everyday: this is dora's universe. Technically, she can boast a wealth of experience, allowing her to retouch negatives and superimpose images with rare sensitivity. Her works include solarizations, collages and photomontages, some of which have become famous icons of surrealism. The story between maar and picasso likely began in 1935. She often immortalized him, just as he portrayed her - she is the famous weeping woman - and the photos of him painting guernica are an extraordinary historical document that testifies to the making of one of the most significant pictorial works of the 20th century. It was picasso who convinced her to abandon photography to devote herself to painting. A process that will prove to be extremely conflicting in all respects, because it is difficult to emancipate oneself from the overpowering influence of the genius. Dora's compositions, however, particularly the large still lifes, reveal a stillness and stylized forms that foreshadow the future abstract language she will adopt. Her relationship with picasso over the years degenerated until it finally foundered in about 1944. A troubled love life and the painful events of world war ii overwhelmed her, plunging her into depression and a psychological crisis that required psychiatric hospitalization. Also subjected to electroshock, thanks to the intervention of her friend éluard, she is followed by psychoanalyst jacques lacan. To get an idea of the picasso-maar relationship, a sentence uttered by the latter is illuminating: "everyone thought i would commit suicide after picasso left me, but i didn't do it so as not to give him this satisfaction." in reality, dora is desperate and the next fifty years see her engaged in a titanic struggle to find herself. Painting and religion represent the two paths to transform the despondency procured by the loss of her points of reference. Until the late 1950s she still frequents a few friends and some artistic circles, but her appearances become increasingly rare and she no longer exhibits. His pictorial production evolves freely. The subjects of her works are enriched by the unadorned landscapes of ménerbes, a place where picasso had given her a house and where, when she is not in paris, she leads a very private life: meditation, spiritual research and painting. Poetry, a dimension that accompanied her throughout her life, leaves an ever-deepening imprint on her artistic path. Her landscapes are essentially lyrical, until she veers toward abstraction. Little by little, figuration disappears to leave room for the poetic essence of the subject. Since the 1980s, still dividing her time between paris and ménerbes, she becomes totally isolated and her religiosity becomes bigoted fanaticism. In the last years of her life, dora maar takes up photography again and reworks old stills, evidently driven by an inexhaustible creativity. In 1995 her first major retrospective, dora maar fotografa (fundación bancaixa), was mounted in valencia. This piece is attributed to the mentioned designer/maker. It has no attribution mark and no
official proof of authenticity,
however it is well documented in design history. I take full responsibility for any authenticity



issues arising from misattribution less