By Robin Dishman
LA JOLLA, California — The True Story of Tamara De Lempicka and the Art of Survival was screened Thursday afternoon during the San Diego International Jewish Film Festival.
This documentary included archival footage, presentations of Lempicka’s art, interview with art experts and the artist’s living family members. The film repeatedly demonstrated how Tamara de Lempicka was a woman ahead of her time.
Her paintings truly depict women painted by a woman. Their physical and inner beauty shine in her paintings. She was a woman who had to survive between the first and second world wars as a single mother and artist. She was a formally trained artist who was heavily influenced by Vermeer, cubism and realism. She lived life on her own terms and demonstrated to a patriarchal art society that a woman could be a successful artist and single mother.
The film noted that Lempicka was born in Poland to an affluent family. When she was still a child the family had to flee Poland and sewed their jewelry into their clothes. They fled to France and started a new life with the money from the jewels. When Lempicka sold a piece of art, she would purchase a a diamond bracelet to save some of the wealth earned in case she needed to flee the country.
The baptismal book found in a Calvinist church was shown as the proof of Lempicka’s real name and Jewish ancestry. This reviewer enjoyed the exposure to Lempicka’s body of work. If you are interested in art history and/or this artist this film will reaffirm your admiration of this artist.
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Robin Dishman is a freelance writer based in San Diego.