Maria

Kees van Dongen

1907–10 · Oil on canvas · Robert Lehman Collection

This portrait entitled Maria, presumably after the model who sat for the picture, captures the direct gaze of the sitter. The painting was quickly rendered with a large brush and intense, unblended color. Van Dongen’s use of unblended color reflects his exposure to and general association with Fauvism and Expressionism, two artistic movements in Paris characterized by bold, sometimes violent use of color. Painted with a certain stylization, Van Dongen’s female sitters often resemble one another with their large, blackened eyes and pale white flesh tones.

Artist

Kees van Dongen

Date

1907–10

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975