Where Is The Blue Room? See It at Musée de l'Orangerie

Q: How does The Blue Room challenge tradition?

Unlike traditional odalisques, this woman is dressed in modern clothes, smoking, with books nearby. She ignores the viewer entirely, absorbed in her own thoughts.

Q: Where can I see The Blue Room?

It hangs at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Valadon created it in 1923 at the height of her artistic career.

Q: What is Suzanne Valadon's background?

Before becoming a painter, Valadon modeled for Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Puvis de Chavannes. Edgar Degas recognized her talent and became her mentor.

Q: Who is the woman in the painting?

Some scholars believe the reclining figure is a self-portrait of Valadon herself, though this remains debated. The pose deliberately subverts the traditional male gaze.

Suzanne Valadon painted this bold response to traditional odalisques in 1923, at the height of her success. A woman lounges on a bed in a camisole and striped pajamas, cigarette in hand, books piled nearby. She gazes past the viewer, absorbed in her own thoughts rather than posing for the male gaze.

Valadon had worked as a model for Renoir, Puvis de Chavannes, and Toulouse-Lautrec before Degas recognized her talent and mentored her. Here she subverts every convention of the reclining nude. The woman is dressed, not naked. Her clothes are modern, not Oriental. A cigarette replaces Ingres's hookah. The intense blue bedding dominates like Matisse, but the attitude is entirely different. Some scholars believe the figure is Valadon herself. The painting measures 90 x 116 cm and hangs at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Unlike traditional odalisques, this woman is dressed in modern clothes, smoking, with books nearby. She ignores the viewer entirely, absorbed in her own thoughts.

It hangs at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Valadon created it in 1923 at the height of her artistic career.

Before becoming a painter, Valadon modeled for Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Puvis de Chavannes. Edgar Degas recognized her talent and became her mentor.

Some scholars believe the reclining figure is a self-portrait of Valadon herself, though this remains debated. The pose deliberately subverts the traditional male gaze.

The Blue Room

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Suzanne Valadon

Self-Portrait

Portrait of Erik Satie

Also at Musée de l'Orangerie

White House

Landscape with Figures

Water Lilies (Nymphéas)

About The Blue Room

Own Art Like This