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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

Suzanne Valadon: A World of Her Own

Suzanne Valadon, Les baigneuses, 1923.

Until Feb 11, 2024
10 Rue Georges Clemenceau, 44000 Nantes, France

As was so often the case with women back in the day, Suzanne Valadon was a muse before she became an artist. A popular model among the painters of Montmartre, she was for two years the lover of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. While posing, Valadon watched the painters and their techniques. Eventually, Renoir found her working on a self-portrait. Degas became her main supporter, helping her move from model to artist. Valadon’s subject matter never changed: she painted women, often nude, with a realism both brutal and beautiful. This exhibition embraces the audacity and complexity of Valadon’s art, and her refusal to be other than herself. —Elena Clavarino

Photo: Gérard Blot/© RMN-Grand Palais