Biography
Born Marie-Clementine, Suzanne Valadon was a French painter. Born in Montmartre, Valadon supported herself from an early age working as a waitress, nanny, and circus performer. From 1880 to 1893 Valadon worked as an artists’ model, sitting for various prominent painters including Pierre Auguste Renoir and Henri de Toulouse Lautrec. Learning from the artists around her, Valadon began to draw and paint, with Edgar Degas as a key supporter of her work. Valadon is best known for her depictions of female nudes, a subject which was unusual for women to explore at the time. Her work provides a female perspective in male-dominated artworld, and the bold confident lines of her figures make her work stand out. Valadon was a well-respected artist who rose to the peak of her fame in the 1920s, and exhibited frequently during her lifetime.
