From Model to Painter: Suzanne Valadon and the Musée de Montmartre

Toulouse-Lautrec had refused Suzanne Valadon's proposal, yet he still loved her and wondered how he could make her happier. When he saw how happy she was sketching what she had picked up by watching other painters, he introduced her to his best friend, Edgar Degas, the Degas of Dancer on Stage. Lautrec's introduction made the two close colleagues, and encouraged to paint what she loved, Suzanne declared, "This is the best moment of my life." Degas praised her sketches, and from then on Suzanne Valadon lived the rest of her life as a painter.

The Musée de Montmartre has been restored to show Suzanne Valadon's works and her studio. Inside, you'll find the small, lovely garden that Renoir used as a backdrop for his paintings, pictures that reveal Suzanne's artistic world, and works that capture the history of old Montmartre. If you're curious about Valadon's art, it's well worth a visit. Our guide isn't a fan of big museums, but this one is small and quick to see, which makes it a personal favorite.

Now picture Suzanne Valadon's self-portrait: a woman with an intense gaze, painted in cool tones. The face and body are no longer an idealized woman seen through other painters' eyes but Valadon as she felt herself to be. The weariness of a woman who labored hard from childhood and took any modeling job she could to earn a living comes through. Over time, she kept painting a fierce, resolute image of herself. After debuting in the art world on Degas's recommendation, she won recognition as a woman painter and built a body of work all her own.