Paule Yvonne Quillien (paris 1898 - 1923), La Garçonne, 1920

Signed lower left: P.Quillien 20

Little is known of the artist Paule Quillien. Wife of the French composer Jacques Brillouin, she died young in 1923 at the age of 25. The titles of her submissions to the Salon des artistes français in 1921 and 1923 ("Nude", "Study", "Portrait" or "Still Life") show us that she worked in various genres, but little more. However, we were fortunate enough to acquire a body of work that provides us with a small glimpse of her talent and which was the inspiration for the presentation of this portrait.

The model appears in it from the front, head turned to the right. This pose highlights her square bobbed hairstyle, known as "à la garçonne", or a Flapper cut. At the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, this hairstyle was the symbol of the cultural and social rebellion of women. It strongly anchors our image in this period and defines its model. Also characteristic of the 1920s, the use of strong parallel lines and very sharp angles gives a sense of geometry and links this painting to the "Art Deco" movement.