Nude, 1949, for Paul Verlaine's Erotic Poems Parallelement by Bisexual Woman Artist Mariette Lydis Original Drawing and Copper Plate

Woman artist Mariette Lydis was a fascinating personality. Twice divorced at the age of 38, Mariette Lydis arrived from her native Austria in Paris in 1925 and soon found her way into artistic circles, where she developed a reputation as a talented painter and illustrator.

She became a member of the Salon d’Autonne, held a solo exhibit at the Galerie Bernheim and illustrated books by authors such Paul Valéry, Pierre Louÿs, Paul Verlaine, and Jules Supervielle. These works cemented her as an up-and-coming avant-garde artist.

Mariette Lydis would remain married to her third husband, an Italian count and publisher, but was openly bisexual. At the end of the 1930s she escaped Paris and the ensuing Nazi roundup of Jews to be briefly in England and from 1940 in Argentina. From 1940 until her death in 1970 she lived with her partner Erica Marx.

Lydis was known for her lithographic depictions celebrating lesbian and bisexual relationships. Critics of her work in this style often described the illustrations as "perverse" and compared her work to Tamara de Lempicka.

One of Mariette Lydis’s last major book commissions was from Paris publisher Georges Guillot, who in 1949 asked her for fifteen engravings to illustrate Paul Verlaine’s poetry collection "Parallèlement" first published in 1889. "Parallèlement" was a popular subject for illustration, largely because it includes the two lesbian-themed cycles, so it is not hard to see why Mariette was an obvious choice for the Guillot edition.

Presented proudly here is an ORIGINAL graphite drawing by Lydis for "Paralellement", as well as the original etched copper plate for the book which ensued. Both works are mounted and presented in the same frame. The original drawing is annotated by Lydis' hand at the upper left p(age) 10 "Vous ici, toi, copine détestable" , a quote from Verlaine's poem.

Size of the graphite drawing: 34 x 26 cm

Size of the etched copper plate: 35 x 28 cm

Overall size of the frame: 52 x 78 cm

Works by Mariette Lydis are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, and Davidson Galleries in Seattle, Washington.

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