The Dutch painter Kees van Dongen was born in Delfshaven near Rotterdam in 1877. He studied painting at the Rotterdam Academy and started out as an illustrator for various magazines. His motifs of harbor scenes and the entertainment district attracted public attention early on. In his early twenties, he moved to Paris, where he lived in the run-down studio house "Bateau-Lavoir", where Pablo Picasso also moved in at a later point. He was close friends with André Derain, Paul Signac and Maurice de Vlaminck, joined the "Fauves" artists' movement in 1905 and from 1908 devoted himself increasingly to painting. Both critics and buyers showed a positive response to his colorful and sensual style. Living back in the Netherlands during World War I, he returned to Paris and received increasing portrait commissions from high the society, eventually becoming a sought-after chronicler of Parisian society of the 1920s and 1930s.

Our dramatic portrait of an unknown lady from 1922 is also a product of this period: expressive lines, almond-shaped, accentuated eyes and strong color accents: Kees van Dongen used few means to create the greatest possible effect in his female portraits. The impact of his background as illustrator can be clearly seen in the reduced yet confidently placed lines. His portraits are regarded a reinterpretation of the classical genre. They appeared to meet the tastes of modern women, as the great demand, especially among famous actresses, suggests. The work "Tête de femme" was exhibited in Paris in 1963 , just a few years before Kees van Dongen died in Monte Carlo in 1968 at over 90. He is said to have once described his art and his painting style as "the most beautiful of all lies". Even today, his striking portraits are still compelling thanks to an unmistakable and powerful style that marks him one of the great masters of modern female portraiture. [AR]