THE glamorous painter Tamara de Lempicka thrilled the artistic world of the 1920s and 30s with her bold works, earning the nickname "The Baroness with a Brush".
A Google Doodling is marking the iconic Polish artist on what would have been her 120th birthday – here is her story.
Getty - Contributor Glamorous Tamara de Lempicka was nicknamed "The Baronness with a Brush"
Who was Tamara de Lempicka?
Tamara de Lempicka was born Maria Górska on May 16 1898 in Warsaw, Poland.
The daughter of a Russian Jewish lawyer and a Polish socialite, she made her first portrait of her younger sister at the age of 10.
Her love of art blossomed when she spent a summer in Italy with her grandmother, developing a love for the Italian Renaissance painters.
She travelled to Saint Petersburg in 1915 to visisth a wealthy aunt following her parents' divorce, where she fell in love with Tadeusz Łempicki – they married the following year.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 made Lempicka and her husband refugees, and they fled from St Petersburg to Paris where the rest of her husband's family had sought refuge.
It was there that she began her formal artistic training at the height of post-cubism.
Getty - Contributor Lempicka's love of art was honed as a teenager on a trip to Italy
She went on to document the 1920s in a truly unique style, blending elements of refined cubism with neoclassical elements.
Lempicka divorced from Tadeusz in 1928 and met Baron Raoul Kuffner, becoming his mistress.
They went on to marry in 1934 following the death of his first wife, and her new position led to coining of the nickname "The Baroness with a Brush".
It was in the 1930s that Lempicka's career reached its peak, and she developed a penchant for glamorous celebrity portraits and her highly stylised nudes.
Getty - Contributor Lempicka's career reached its glamorous peak in the 1930s
During this period she painted the likes of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Queen Elizabeth of Greece.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the couple moved to the USA, settling first in Beverly Hills and later in New York.
Baron Kuffner died in 1961 after suffering a heart attack on an ocean liner, and his widow sold many of her possessions and travelled the world by ship.
In 1963 Lempicka moved to Houston, Texas, to be with her only child, a daughter called Kizette from her first marriage.
The artist later moved to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where she died in her sleep on March 18, 1980 – she was 81 years old.
Google The Google Doodle marking Lempicka on her 120th birthday
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.
The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.
Google Google celebrated the Autumn Equinox with a themed doodle
In that same year, a turkey was added to Thanksgiving and two pumpkins appeared as the 'o's for Halloween the following year.
Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.
Among the Doodles published in recent months were ones commemorating German scientist Robert Koch, Jan Ingenhousz (who discovered photosynthesis) and the 50th anniversary of kids coding languages being introduced.
Earlier in the year, the search giant celebrated the 2017 Autumn Equinox , which marked the official ending of summer and the coming of autumn.
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Today's Google homepage honours Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka made a career out of subverting expectations and in doing so, developed her distinct style.
The Polish painter was born in Warsaw, 120 years ago in 1898,
Her love for art started at an early age - as a young child, she spent a summer in Italy with her grandmother, who inspired her love for great Italian Renaissance painters.
When her parents divorced, she was sent to live with her wealthy aunt in Russia.
It was during this time that Lempicka was exposed to the lives of nobility as well as her future husband, Tadeusz Lempicki.
(Image: GOOGLE)
Shortly after their marriage, the Russian Revolution began and Lempicka, now a refugee, moved from St. Petersburg to Paris.
It was there, at the height of post-cubism, where she began her formal artistic training under the influence of French painters Maurice Denis and André Lhote.
(Image: Getty Images)
Taking in her grandiose and decorative surroundings, Lempicka went on to produce exquisite tributes to the Roaring Twenties in her own unique way, utilising a blend of late neoclassical and refined cubist styles in her art.
Her affinity for the luxurious also led her to fixate on portraits of artists, stars, and aristocrats, which coupled with her considerable charm and exotic lifestyle, lit up the art world and social circles of the period.
(Image: Press Association)
Today’s Doodle was created by artist Matthew Cruickshank, who paid homage to Lempicka’s unique style.
He said: “Few artists embodied the exuberant roaring twenties more than polish artist Tamara de Lempicka.
(Image: Press Association)
"Her fast paced, opulent lifestyle manifests itself perfectly into the stylized Art-Deco subjects she celebrated in her paintings.
"I first encountered Lempicka's work at her Royal Academy show in London, 2004. I was struck by the scale and skill of her paintings coupled with her life (as colorful as her work!).
(Image: Press Association)
"I chose to place a portrait of Lempicka in my design with accompanying motifs evocative of the roaring 20's and 30's.
"It's no easy feat to recreate any artists work - but I hope to have done so here.”
