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531 - Marie Vassilieff (Franco-Russian, 1884-1957) Self-portrait w…
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Estimate €20,000 - €30,000
Sale commission
Description
Marie Vassilieff (Franco-Russian, 1884-1957) Self-portrait with shoe, c. 1948 Panel. Signed. Label with the inscription "Marie Vassilieff, 14 rue Charles VIII, Nogent sur Marne, portrait of the artist by herself". Exhibition label: Expressionniste du réel expressionniste fantastique, n°3502. Height: 47 cm Width: 37 cm Frame: 70.5 x 56.5 cm. Provenance: Claude Bernès collection (1941-2025), Paris. This work is registered in the Claude Bernès archives under no. 252. Bibliography: Claude Bernès and Benoît Noël, "Marie Vassilieff", published by BVR, Livarot, work reproduced on p. 139. Against a black background, Marie Vassilieff is shown slightly bent over, her blue eyes encircled by round glasses, her grey hair cut short. Against her body, she holds a large black Virgin Mary doll in white clothing, a black cross around her neck, her face haloed in the manner of a rubber half-Byzantine icon, half-African totem. In front of her left hand is a shoe. This painting brings the artist face to face with his creature, the woman face to face with her sacred double, the ageing body face to face with the fetish object. The shoe, a derisory and prosaic accessory, introduces a note of black humour into this mystically serious scene. Jimerson notes that when Vassilieff depicts himself with his dolls, their slender bodies do not display any masculine or feminine characteristics, extending the question of androgyny that runs through all his work.
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About the sale MARIE VASSILIEFF - THE GOLDEN AGE OF MONTPARNASSE
Auction location
Auction time 06/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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