Delaunay, Sonia

(1885-1979)

   painter

   Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Sonia Terk (in 1910 she married robert delaunay) studied first in St. Petersburg and in Germany before coming to Paris in 1906. Her first exhibition (paintings, fabrics, bookbindings) showed the influence of paul gauguin and Vincent van Gogh. Having assimilated the ideas of paul cézanne and the cubists (Bal Bullier, 1913), she became interested especially in the possibilities of pure color. A pioneer in geometric abstraction, she developed a style of "simultaneous contrast" of bright prismatic colorations and illustrated the first "simultaneous" book, La Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France by blaise cendrars. Following a trip to Portugal and Spain, she produced large geometric compositions with strong colors (Marché à Minho). Beginning in 1911, Delaunay was involved in decorative arts and also created theatrical costumes. In the 1920s, she became a fashion designer, with her brilliant hand-painted fabrics revolutionizing textile design. Later, in the 1940s, her style evoked a more delicate and restrained level.