Kiki from France

Art by Man Ray (1890-1976)  Le Violon d'Ingres, (Ingres's Violin) 1924

Kiki de Montparnasse (1901 - 1953)

Alice Ernestine Prin was born in a deprived environment and after having experienced all kinds of odd jobs, including being a nude model for a sculptor at only 15, she entered an artistic environment. Close to Chaim Soutine, she spent time with the Montparnasse artistic figures in such places as La Rotonde while she began sitting for Amadeo Modigliani and Tsugouharu Foujita. Soon, in the 1920s, she became the 'Queen of Montparnasse' and established her legendary persona with her short hair, bright red lips and smoky eyes, the whole under the name Kiki de Montparnasse. In 1921, she was Man Ray's lover and favourite sitter. She befriended such figures as André Breton and Max Ernst as well as Ernest Hemingway and she became the muse of a bohemian Parisian Left Bank. From the 1930s, the icon slowly declined and to finance the medical care for her mother and husband, Kiki de Montparnasse opened a cabaret in 1936 before dying obese and a drug addict.

Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky, August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in France. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. He produced major works in a variety of media but considered himself a painter above all. He was best known for his photography, and he was a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. Man Ray is also noted for his work with photograms, which he called "rayographs" in reference to himself.

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