The Roaring Twenties...

So here we are in 2022.

Although with everything that is going on, I’m sure like me you will be much more diverted by the 1920’s.

The 1920’s in Paris to be precise. I’ve been watching lots of programs about Dada and the birth of Surrealism this last couple of weeks, so when the press release came in for this book, it immediately caught my attention.

I love Assouline books. Although the price always makes me wince the quality and subject matter are always so intriguing.

PARIS IN THE 1920s WITH KIKI DE MONTPARNASSE - where every image tells a fascinating story revealing the artistic, social, and historical events that created and surrounded the incredible character of Kiki, leading to the blossoming of the now mythical Montparnasse neighbourhood.

There is over 300 pages and just in case you wondered, it weighs in at 9lb. Why would they even tell you that? Are they perhaps worried that your puny bookshelves couldn’t handle such a weighty tome…

From humble origins, Kiki de Montparnasse became the muse of Man Ray, Kisling, Foujita, Calder, and other important artists living in Paris in the Roaring Twenties. Many revolutionary writers, artists, and personalities flourished on the bohemian Left Bank, each one inventing their own iconic style, and Kiki, the Queen of Montparnasse, was the thread connecting them.

Not only an artist’s model, Kiki was also a cabaret performer, actress, and an artist in her own right with two successful exhibitions.

We hang out with a crowd called Dadaists and some called Surrealists— for my part, I don’t see much difference between them! ...Our nights are spent in talking, which doesn’t bore me very much, even if I don’t know what it’s about.

Now isn’t that more fun than reading about Omicron, Boris or Biden.

I jolly well think so…

Queen Marie

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