Dora Maar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dora Maar
Portrait of Maar by Man Ray
Born	Henriette Theodora Markovitch 22 November 1907 Paris, France
Died	16 July 1997(1997-07-16) (aged 89) Paris, France
Education	School of photography, École des Beaux-Arts, Académie Julian
Known for	Photography, Painting
Movement	Surrealism
Partner(s)	Pablo Picasso (1935–1943)

Henriette Theodora Markovitch (born November 22, 1907 – died July 16, 1997), known as Dora Maar, was a talented French artist. She was a photographer, painter, and poet. Dora Maar was also a close friend and partner of the famous artist Pablo Picasso. He featured her in many of his paintings, like Portrait of Dora Maar and Dora Maar au Chat.

Dora Maar's Early Life and Education

Henriette Theodora Markovitch was born in Paris, France. Her father, Josip Marković, was a Croatian architect. Her mother, Louise-Julie Voisin, was from Cognac, France.

In 1910, her family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her father worked on many building projects there. He was even honored by Emperor Francis Joseph I.

In 1926, Dora and her family returned to Paris. She chose the name Dora Maar as her artist name. She studied at several art schools, including the School of Photography and the École des Beaux-Arts. She also attended the Académie Julian, which treated women and men equally.

While studying, Dora Maar met other artists. She became friends with Henri Cartier-Bresson. She also met Jacqueline Lamba, another female surrealist artist.

After her studies, Maar traveled alone to Barcelona and London. She took photos of how people were affected by the economic problems of the time. When she returned to Paris, she opened her own photography studio.

Dora Maar: A Talented Photographer

Dora Maar's first known photos were taken in the early 1920s. She was on a cargo ship going to the Cape Verde Islands.

In 1930, she opened a photography studio in Paris with Pierre Kéfer. They focused on commercial photography for advertisements and fashion magazines. Her father helped her financially as she started her career. Their studio became very successful.

She also met the photographer Brassaï and shared a darkroom with him. He described her as having "bright eyes and an attentive gaze."

During this time, Dora Maar's work showed the influence of Surrealism. This art movement explored dreams and imagination. She often used mirrors and strong shadows in her photos. She believed art should show deeper ideas, not just what things look like. She also saw Emmanuel Sougez, a photographer, as a mentor.

Maar joined the "October group" of artists. She had her first photos published in a magazine in 1932. Her first solo art show was held at the Galerie Vanderberg in Paris.

Her most famous photos are from her surrealist period. These include Portrait of Ubu (1936). This photo shows a character from a famous play. Her surrealist works often used collages and photomontages. Her art was shown in major exhibitions in Paris, London, and New York in 1936.

Dora Maar was also interested in social issues. She signed a statement called "Appeal to the Struggle" in 1934. This was a response to political unrest in Paris. Many of her photos showed people affected by poverty during the Great Depression. She was part of groups that worked against fascism and for social change.

Her Relationship with Pablo Picasso

Dora Maar first saw Pablo Picasso in 1935 while working on a film set. They formally met a few days later through their friend Paul Eluard. Picasso was fascinated by Dora Maar. Her unique personality inspired many of his artworks.

Maar photographed the different stages of Picasso creating his famous painting, Guernica. This painting showed the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. Picasso used her photos to help him with his work. Dora Maar was also Picasso's main model. He often painted her looking sad or crying.

Maar also helped Picasso understand politics better. She taught him about photography. She even showed him a special technique called cliché verre, which combines photography and printmaking.

Dora Maar as "The Weeping Woman"

Dora Maar is well known as Picasso's partner and muse. He painted many portraits of her. In many of these paintings, Dora Maar looked sad or troubled. The most famous of these is The Weeping Woman. Picasso was deeply affected by the Spanish Civil War. He saw Dora Maar as a symbol of the pain people felt during that time.

However, Dora Maar did not like how Picasso painted her. She once said, "all portraits of me are lies. They're Picassos. Not one is Dora Maar."

After her relationship with Picasso ended, Dora Maar went through a difficult time. She met Jacques Lacan, a famous doctor, who helped her. Picasso bought her a house in Ménerbes, France. She moved there and lived alone. She became interested in the Catholic religion and started painting abstract art.

Dora Maar: A Painter in Her Own Right

Dora Maar's paintings were not well known until after she passed away. In 1999, her artworks were sold, and people discovered her unique style.

After leaving Picasso, Dora Maar stopped photography and focused on painting. Picasso had encouraged her to paint in a cubist style, which he was famous for. But after their separation, Dora Maar truly found her own voice as a painter.

Her early paintings after this time were often dark and showed her sadness. Examples include Portrait of Eluard and Self-Portrait to The Child of 1946.

In the 1960s and 1970s, she began to feel better. She experimented with abstract art using bright colors. In the 1980s, she painted many landscapes of the Luberon region where she lived. These paintings showed windy and cloudy scenes, reflecting her journey as an artist.

Later Life and Legacy

Dora Maar spent her last years in her apartment in Paris. She passed away on July 16, 1997, at 89 years old. She was buried in the Bois-Tardieu cemetery in Clamart. Her experiments with photograms and darkroom photography were discovered after her death.

While many remember Dora Maar as Picasso's partner, she is now recognized as an important artist herself. Many art shows have featured her work. These include exhibitions at the Haus der Kunst in Munich (2001-2002), the Centre Pompidou in Paris (2019), and the Tate Modern in London (2019-2020).

Dora Maar was also played by Samantha Colley in the 2018 TV series Genius, which focused on Picasso's life.

Images for kids

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  Portrait of Dora Maar, by Pablo Picasso

See also

In Spanish: Dora Maar para niños