Thursday, September 22, 2011

Muses and Mistresses In Art History


"Alice Ernestine Prin, nicknamed Queen of Montparnasse, and often known as Kiki de Montparnasse, became a nude model for sculptors when she was 14, posing for Alexander Calder and Jean Cocteau. She was the longtime mistress and muse of surrealist photographer Man Ray. Ernest Hemingway provided an introduction to her autobiography. Her defiant and sultry attitude helped define femininity in the 1920's. In hard times, she was reported to have said: "all I need is an onion, a bit of bread, and a bottle of red [wine]; and I will always find somebody to offer me that."

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