Surrealist Hand - Tamara de Lempicka
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Description
A departure from her iconic Art Deco style, this Surrealist work by Tamara de Lempicka features a realistic hand emerging from fluid, abstract forms.
Tamara de Lempicka is primarily recognised for her sharp, Art Deco portraits that defined the aesthetic of the interwar period. This work, however, represents a departure from her signature style. It demonstrates her engagement with the visual language of Surrealism, a movement that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind. The composition features a singular, anatomically precise hand emerging from a cascade of abstract, flowing forms that resemble draped fabric or melting organic matter.
The palette is restrained, relying on muted earth tones, creams, and browns to create a sense of ambiguity. The contrast between the realistic rendering of the hand and the surrounding non-representational shapes creates a tension typical of the period. While Lempicka maintained her technical precision, the subject matter moves away from the socialite portraiture that brought her fame. The verticality of the forms suggests a descent or a dissolution, inviting the viewer to consider the relationship between the human form and the abstract environment.
This piece offers a glimpse into the experimental phase of Lempicka's career during her time in the United States. It reflects the broader artistic shifts occurring as European artists migrated and encountered new influences. The work avoids the rigid geometry of her earlier paintings, opting instead for fluid, distorted shapes that challenge the viewer's perception of space and form. It remains a curious example of how a painter known for controlled, polished surfaces navigated the more fluid, dream-like concerns of the Surrealist movement. The focus on a single limb, isolated from a body, adds a layer of psychological weight to the composition, encouraging a reading that is more personal and introspective than her commissioned works.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Surrealist Hand - Tamara de Lempicka
Artist Biography
Tamara De Lempicka
In December 1917, the Cheka arrested her husband Tadeusz Lempicki in the night, suspected of connections to the Tsar's secret police. She searched the prisons for him and reportedly secured his release by offering favours to the Swedish consul. They fled through Copenhagen and London to Paris. She initially signed her paintings Lempitzky, the masculine form of the name, to be taken more seriously. Critics praised the work, thinking a man had made it.
She moved in the lesbian and bisexual salons of 1920s Paris, a circle that included Vita Sackville-West and Colette. Her female portraits carry both the painter's gaze and the lover's. Perspective (The Two Girlfriends), shown at the 1923 Salon d'Automne, was among the earliest. Her style blended a late, polished Cubism with neoclassical form, influenced by Ingres but drenched in the glamour and geometry of Art Deco.
In 1929, she painted herself for the cover of the German fashion magazine Die Dame: Autoportrait (Tamara in a Green Bugatti). The car in the painting was a Bugatti. Her actual car was a yellow Renault.
She divorced Tadeusz in 1928 and married Baron Raoul Kuffner, an Austro-Hungarian art collector. They moved to America in 1939 to escape the war. She became a favourite of the Hollywood set. After the war, her work drifted into obscurity. The Art Deco revival brought her back: a 1972 retrospective at the Galerie du Luxembourg restored her reputation. A stage play called Tamara ran in Los Angeles for eleven years, from 1984 to 1995, the longest-running play in the city's history. Madonna became a major collector. She died in 1980.
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