Suzanne Valadon at the heart of a graphic novel and a documentary

This is the event at the start of the year: the Pompidou Center dedicates, until May 26, a major exhibition to Suzanne Valadon (1865–1938), pure autodidact who became a emblematic painter of the avant-gardesat a time when, in Belle Époque Paris, women were rather confined to the role of model. Recognized during her lifetime, Suzanne Valadon’s work was nevertheless eclipsed by that of her son Maurice Utrillo, before returning to the forefront in recent years.

It is therefore on this occasion that (co-edited by Seghers and Arte) appears Suzanne Valadon, without concessionand graphic novel by Flore Mongin and Coline Naujalis which retraces the extraordinary trajectory of this artist as determined as she is talented, whom life has not always spoiled…

Pioneer of female gaze

It must be said that things started off rather badly for little Marie Clémentine, born in 1865 to an unknown father and a linenworker mother. Forced to leave school and work to support herself, she discovers a talent for drawing. Circus acrobat, then model for the greatest artists of the Belle Époque (Puvis de Chavannes, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec…), she in turn decided to embrace a artist career.

The one we nickname “little bride of Montmartre”and who chose the first name of Suzanne, sends all conventions, artistic and moral, into disarray. She became pregnant at 18, had a passionate love affair with the composer Erik Satie, then spent a few years with a stockbroker before becoming infatuated with a friend of her son, 20 years her junior… Over the years, she imposes her style and above all her look: that of a free artista woman what’s more, dismantling with a few brush strokes centuries of idealization of the female body imposed by the great narratives of Western art history.

Dive into the Montmartre of the avant-gardes

Enhanced with powerful black rings – characteristic of the works of Suzanne Valadon – the brightly colored illustrations by Coline Naujalis give substance to the text by Flore Mongin, who with her lively style and many dialogues immerses the reader in the artistic ferment of Belle Époque Montmartre. Throughout the pages, we get caught up in the a thousand and one twists and turns – not always happy – having punctuated the entire life of this artist, who has always fiercely defended her freedom to create. Note that the Arte channel will broadcast on March 30 a documentary dedicated to Suzanne Valadon, also produced by Flore Mongin with illustrations by Coline Naujalis.