Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980)

The 1940s saw Lempicka start a series of still lives. Each of the elements building the composition of Nature morte au lys et au drapé gris contribute to the vastly personal meaning of this painting. As her favourite flower and symbol of purity - a feature stressed by the artist herself - the white lily became one of the most common elements in Lempicka’s works and in her home and her wardrobe. The omnipresent silvery-grey in the drapery was a favourite colour of the artist, which she requested to decorate her exhibitions and her home in Paris. Nature morte au lys et au drapé gris is notable for its stylistic similarity to classical painting. The precision, attention to detail and play of sharp light and shadow, show the lesson she took from the Italian old masters while travelling through southern Europe in her adolescence.