Rêverie de Marie

Rêverie de Marie portrays a woman daydreaming in front of an abstracted background of black, blue, and green patches of color. Based on the title of the work, it may be assumed that this image is a self-portrait of the artist. Cradling her cheek in her right hand, Marie stares woefully into space, adopting a pose that has been interpreted historically as a sign of melancholy. Indeed, Marie exhibits a sense of wistful longing as she becomes lost in her thoughts. This print reflects Marie Laurencin’s characteristic style of the 1920s and 30s. During those decades she produced numerous female portraits, all of which are depicted with rounded contours and solid black eyes. They are also rendered using a selective color palette of pale blues, pinks, and greens. Laurencin’s particular aesthetic has been labeled feminine due to her use of soft forms and bright colors, which stands in marked contrast to the more angular shapes and neutral tones of the then-popular Cubist style.