Louis Marcoussis, HELENA RUBINSTEIN, 1933

40.0 x 30.0cm - etching, paper etching, paper, 40 x 30 cm (plate imprint), 65.4 x 50.7 cm (sheet)
signed on the plate l.d.: marcoussis
below, under the plate (in pencil) l.d.: 5/10 état avant le coupage des marges
signed p.d. (in pencil): marcoussis

below, probably in Helena Rubinstein's hand: à Monsieur Alexandre Helena Rubinstein 1965

On the reverse along the lower edge (in pencil): G3507; next to: M Alexandre [...].

On the so-called "back" (in marker): Madame | Helena | Rubinstein Jeune | collection Privée | Alexandre | de Paris; p.d.. (in pencil): G 3507

The print, made in 1933, depicts the profile of Helena Rubinstein, a Polish businesswoman of Jewish descent who was the founder of modern cosmetology and the founder of the cosmetic empire Helena Rubinstein Inc. Helena Rubinstein was one of the wealthiest women of her era and a well-known patron of the arts. She was often assisted in selecting works for her collection by Louis Marcoussis. The dedication under the print and the description on the back refer to Louis Alexandre Raimon (known as Alexandre de Paris). He was a famous French hairdresser and stylist who achieved international fame. He worked with both major fashion houses - Chanel, Yves Saint Lauren, Givenchy, Balmain, as well as world cinema stars - Audrey Hepburn, Liza Minnelli, Greta Garbo, Maria Callas, and Elizabeth Taylor.



Louis Marcoussis (Ludwik Kazimierz Władysław Markus; Warsaw 1878 - Cusset k. Vichy 1941) - painter of Polish origin working mainly in Paris. In Warsaw he began studying law, which he abandoned in 1901 for the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied in the studios of Jan Stanislawski and Jozef Mehoffer. Two years later, he left for Paris. He continued his studies at the Académie Julian under the direction of Jules Lefebvre. He became associated with the Paris bohemian milieu, counting among his friends the leading representatives of this milieu: Picasso, Braque, Gris, Metzinger, Tzara, Apollinaire. From 1905 to 1929 he regularly participated in the Paris Salons: Independent, Autumn, Tuileries; he also exhibited in Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Vienna, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, among others. He traveled extensively in Europe and the USA. In 1920, he started working with the Cracow magazine "Fomiści"; earlier he also did illustrations for the French magazines "La Vie parisienne", "L'Assiette au beurre", as well as for the Warsaw magazine "Mucha". Initially Marcoussis worked under the influence of Impressionism and Fauvism, but he destroyed his works from this period and soon turned to new avant-garde explorations. In parallel with Picasso and Braque, he laid the foundations of Cubism, and experimenting with passion, he often surpassed them. Marcoussis' work, little known in Poland, is highly regarded in the world, and the artist himself is placed - as one of the precursors of Cubism - in one line with Picasso and Braque. His works are in the world's most renowned museums, including the Centre Pompidou (Still Life with Chessboard, 1912), Tate Gallery (Interior with Double Bass, 1929, Rain, 1929), The Philadelphia Museum of Art (Still Life with Fish) and in the largest private collections. The artist's only painting in Polish museum collections, Concerto from 1928, is in the Museum of Art in Lodz.