Femmes au chien

Marie Laurencin
Femmes au chien
1923
huile sur toile
H. 80 ; L. 100 cm avec cadre H. 101 ; L. 120 cm
Foujita Foundation / ADAGP, Paris 2023 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée de l'Orangerie) / Franck Raux
Marie Laurencin (1883 - 1956)

The horizontal composition shows two young women, one of whom is holding a guitar, on either side of a dog. It is the perfect reflection of the feminine world that Marie Laurencin enjoyed painting in the early 1920s. It is also a direct echo of her work on the sets of the operetta Les Biches [The Does] in 1923. The animal interposes itself and seems to connect the two female figures, one wearing a dress with bows and the other a scarf. The two pensive young women are not facing one another, and seem not to know each other.
The slightly lunar atmosphere is created by the cold tones: white, green, blue, grey and black. The rose tones of the skirt and the curtain add a touch or warmth however, along with the large yellow strip on the left of the painting, an unusual colour for Marie Laurencin.
The delicateness of the canvas is magnified by its spectacular and sophisticated frame, made from mirrors and glass beads. We know that one of Marie Laurencin's clients had works by the artist framed in this manner in her home, but this is the only canvas in the collection to feature this type of frame.