'Portrait de Marjorie Ferry'

Tamara de Lempicka was a Polish painter known for giving agency to her subjects. Rather than dismissing them as passive participants to the visual experience, Lempicka depicted those she painted as alluring and assertive from within the canvas. This portrait of Parisian cabaret singer, Marjorie Ferry, was commissioned by Ferry's husband just after their marriage. Lempicka utilizes elements of Modernism such as angular geometric shapes in the columns and drapery as well as bold, clean shadows on/around Ferry's hair and body. The painting simultaneously elicits themes of authority and seduction as a reflection of these Modernist style choices.