How a girl from a poor family became a symbol of bohemian Paris: Kiki from Montparnasse

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Perhaps not many people know Alice Pren, but many have probably heard of Kiki from Montparnasse. This is the same person. And it was her back that was painted like a violin on the famous painting by Man Ray. In 1928, this model, cabaret singer and socialite, whom the American art collector Peggy Guggenheim called "amazingly beautiful", became the Queen of Montparnasse and the symbol of bohemian Paris. But who was Kiki really, and what artists dedicated their canvases to her?

Biography of the singer cabaret

After the two World Wars, the impoverished neighborhoods of Paris were home to many of the 20th century's greatest artists from Europe and America. At the heart of the community of Montparnasse, a bohemian district of Paris, was a young woman who called herself Kiki. She was born in 1901 and named Alice Pren.

The girl grew up in a poor family and was raised initially by her grandmother, and then moved to her mother in Paris to earn money. But she kicked her daughter out without a home, because she was categorically against her profession as a model.

From that sad moment, Alice reinvented herself. She had no money, no hereditary wealth, her parents were not married. She didn't even know where her father was. Alice Pren was forced to build her own path in this world, living with friends, posing or dancing in order to get at least some money. Even during difficult times, she maintained a positive attitude, saying, “All I need is an onion, a piece of bread and a bottle of red wine. And I will always find someone who will offer me this. So French!

What Kiki did from Montparnasse

Living on the streets in poverty, Kiki discovered Montparnasse and soon became friends with the artist Chaim Soutine. He introduced Alice to a wider range of artists. Taking on a new name, she soon became an integral part of the social and artistic scene of Montparnasse - a French cabaret performer, painter and muse of artists.

The image of a lioness from Montparnasse was immortalized in the works of Fernand Léger, Maurice Utrillo, Amedeo Modigliani, Julian Mandel, Tsuguharu Fujita, Constant Detre, Francis Picabia, Jean Cocteau, Arno Brecker, Alexander Calder and Man Ray (with the latter, a complex and long romantic relationship) … In their eyes, Kiki was not only a good model, but also a constant source of inspiration. She also starred in numerous experimental short films from that period.

Alice Pren's lifestyle was quite spicy. Some were accused of easy behavior, while others considered Alice Pren a feminist icon. It was Kiki from Montparnasse who appeared in Jean Rice's debut novel The Quartet, where she appeared before the audience as a brave and kind, small and plump girl with surprisingly bright makeup. Her plump cheeks were tinted orange-red, her lips were bright red, and her green eyes were shaded with charcoal. This palette of vibrant colors accentuated the pointed, death-white nose.

Surrounded by many fans, Kiki eventually linked her life with photographer Man Ray. This is one of the most important photographers of the twentieth century. The affair with Kiki lasted 6 years, during which she posed for his most iconic photographs. But the tumultuous relationship soon ended.

What was so charming about Kiki was the implacable self-confidence she exuded effortlessly. She regularly performed in Parisian cabarets, dressed in black stockings and garters, and sang popular songs at the time. In the 1930s, she became the owner of the L'Oasis cabaret in Montparnasse, which was later renamed Chez Kiki, and a feminist icon and, in some way, an example of female emancipation.

Kiki was least known as an artist. Alice Pren's first exhibition took place in 1927. The American public welcomed the art of the socialite. Kiki's paintings gave an "impression of simplicity, faith and tenderness." In her works, she became an independent artist and was a subject, not an object as before. After becoming independent, Kiki created a new image, different from the image that was familiar to the whole world. She also wrote a book called Memoirs of Kiki. Interestingly, the introduction to the book was written by Ernest Hemingway himself. He once noted that Kiki "dominated the Montparnasse era more than Queen Victoria dominated the Victorian era."

Kiki died in 1953 in her apartment. The cause of death is the consequences of alcohol and drug addiction. She was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery.