Portrait of Marquis Sommi 1925

Tamara de Lempicka’s portrait of Marquis Sommi is a cool dance of geometric forms rendered in oil paint. I see a figure emerging through sharp angles, an almost architectural construct of planes and light. I bet Lempicka stood before her easel, squinting, figuring out just how to get that severe elegance across. The brown of his suit is so rich, each brushstroke contributing to the overall feel of composed sophistication. Look at his hands, so precisely placed, bearing a ring that catches the light. There’s a lot of her signature style in there. It reminds me a bit of other painters of the time, Picasso, or maybe Léger, but Lempicka’s got her own thing. There’s a certain sleekness, a polish that’s all her own. This portrait isn’t just a depiction; it’s a statement, a point of view. And it’s that dialogue, that shared language of form and color, that keeps us all in conversation. It makes it timeless.