Girl with a Dove 1928

Marie Laurencin painted "Girl with a Dove" in 1928 using oil on canvas. This work reflects the changing position of women in French society during the interwar period. Laurencin's delicate style, with its pastel colors and graceful lines, was favored by the Parisian elite. It reflected a shift in cultural values towards a more feminine aesthetic, and away from the more masculine styles of earlier avant-garde movements. Her subjects, often young women, are both modern and timeless. The dove can be seen as a symbol of peace, love, and purity, but also, considering the time in which this work was made, as representing freedom and independence. As art historians, we examine exhibition records, critical reviews, and biographical sources to understand the social and institutional contexts that shaped artists like Laurencin and made their art meaningful. Laurencin was closely associated with the rise of female artists, and her style helped shape the cultural identity of the Roaring Twenties.