picasso’s muse - i was sylvette...50s. allegedly brigette bardot took her style from lydia having...
TRANSCRIPT
Picasso’s Muse
WORDS . CLAIRE MEADOWS
After Nyne meets
Lydia Corbett
& Her Daughter Isabel
A F T E R N Y N E
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Q & A : A F T E R N Y N E M E E T S L Y D I A C O R B E T T
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Sylvette David (now Lydia Corbett), is one of the few
living sitters of Pablo Picasso, and certainly one of the few
who had no romantic links to the artist.
She met him aged 17 in France and he was captivated
by her shyness and her distinct style - she pioneered the
ponytail and long skirt that became synonymous with the
50s. Allegedly Brigette Bardot took her style from Lydia
having seen Picasso's exhibition in the 50s. During the 3
month friendship between Picasso and Lydia he produced
over 60 portraits of her across a range of mediums.
Lydia is currently living in Devon and is a widely
respec ted ar t i s t in her own r ight . She was formerly
represented by the celebrated gallerist Francis Kyle.
The book combines photographs and Picasso's work with
dozens of artworks created by Lydia over her long career. I
Was Sylvette: The Story of Lydia Corbett was written by
Lydia's daughter and is due to be published in mid-October.
Lydia will be speaking in late November at an event hosted
by the National Portrait Gallery in conjunction with their
Picasso Portraits exhibition.
After Nyne met Lydia and her daughter Isabel ahead
of the launch of the book to talk about this fascinating story.
P R E V I O U S P A G E :
The cow which jumped over the moon,
Lydia Corbett
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A F T E R N Y N E M E E T S L Y D I A C O R B E T T
T H I S P A G E :
Modelling in London, Lydia Corbett © Endeavour London Family Archives
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Lydia, tell us about the journey that led you
to Vallauris
I was 17 when my mother moved from ‘Dieulefit’
(where I was bought up) to ‘Vallauris'. I was
actually at school in England then, at Summerhill
in Suffolk. My mother moved there because there
were pottery and ceramic workshops where she
could get work with her partner Fonsou as he was
a potter. Because our income was so low we used
to get food on a tab with a beautiful, lovely Italian
lady who was very friendly she was very kind and
often gave us food. Tobias/Toby (my boyfriend
from Summerhill) and I stayed with my mum after
we finished at Summerhill along with my mothers’
boyfriend and his son. I dragged along in a dream
wherever Toby went, he became like my father/
mother - I would hang off his arm. In Vallauris Toby
found a workshop in the “Fournas” and Picasso’s
workshop was near there on the top overlooking
us. As I was with Toby every day he saw me and
I think he drew me before we spoke. Tobias loved
creating as well so he made sculptures and chairs
- a trade he had learnt with Terence Conran in the
days before Habitat when they shared a flat in
London. I made little clay figures like the crib - my
inspiration from my school days in Dieulefit, taken
from the Christmas story of Jesus. (since I turned
seventy I have gone back to making cribs, so it
is funny.)
The landscape of Vallauris was like a circus with
potteries all around, many chimneys and not very
pretty but it had the Place de L’ homme au Mouton
and the castle which had a nice space where
Piccaso made the War and Peace fresco.
What were your first impressions of Pablo Picasso?
Picasso was a lovely gentle clean-shaven man
with lovely deep black eyes like a deep pool of
water, and he looked at me with such excitement
and inspiration in his eyes, nothing sexual at all.
Although being an artist he most probably would
have liked to have painted me nude.
The decision to model for him - did he explain why
he was inspired by you?
Yes he said to me “I like your hair dangling down
the neck” you know I had the pony tail hairstyle, “I
love your hair” And he liked my long neck.
Were you happy with the works based on you
he produced?
Yes I loved them because I liked the simplicity of
them and the boldness and then he made me
choose one, I chose the one that looked most like
me.
Did you get to keep any of them?
I kept the drawing for a little while but then I had
to sell it because I had no money, but he didn't
mind. He also gave me a book with his autograph
and he stuck a print of my portrait in it too. He also
gave me an oil painting portrait of me that was
one meter wide. The A4 drawing I sold was of me
with all my dangly hair around my face and I was
wearing the grey coat that Toby had made for me.
His great-grand father was a tailor in Bohemia and
had passed on his talent to Toby.
Had art always been a prominent part of your life?
Yes my mother as long as I can remember painted,
my father collected art and my grandfather painted
watercolours. On the island she painted portraits
of people, I remember her sitting on a rock and
painting with her fingers.
In your work, what are your own inspirations?
I love flowers of all sorts of colours I create a
picture where the table cloth can become the
landscape, I tell bible stories. My family, friends,
children, animals, birds, fishes, the sea and boats
all inspire me. Actually it is the celebration of God
in Life; when I paint I'm not sad!!
What would you like readers to take away from
the book?
Anything that touches their heart because life is
a learning process and a journey. It is “La Dance
de la vie” the name of one of my paintings which
is being shown by David Simon Contemporary Art
on the 14th - 27th October, at Beside the Wave
Gallery in Primrose Hill. For example today I am
in hospital with a broken ankle and I am sketching
Questions for
Lydia Corbett
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A F T E R N Y N E M E E T S L Y D I A C O R B E T T
from my bed. I’m drawing all the pain and suffering
with my difficult vision as I see things blurred now.
It has shown me life in a different way and I hope
that people get touched. Creativity is happiness
and very healing.
What has been your proudest achievement?
The first time I had an exhibition at the Francis Kyle
Gallery in Maddox Street, London then I showed
there for 25 years. I also have paintings on a
whole floor at the Dorchester Hotel. Finally seeing
all the paintings of me by Picasso in Bremen
Germany. Christoph Grunnenburg phoned up and
asked, "would you like to see all the portraits of
Picasso in our museum?” You know this has been
my dream for over sixty years now it has come
true and so now I’m in hospital and life goes on,
what is next?
T H I S P A G E T O P :
Woodie and Picasso © Endeavour London
Corbett Family Archive
T H I S P A G E B O T T O M :
Lydia Corbett, Delphinium,
Camaret Courtyard © David Simon Contemporary
N E X T S P R E A D :
College, Andre Villers© Endeavour London
Corbett Family Archive
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A F T E R N Y N E
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Isabel, when were you first made aware of your
mother’s Picasso connection?
I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t a part
of our life. It was a story I knew about and
accepted, as if everybody had a Picasso moment
in their lives. I was always surprised when people
looked shocked if the story happened to pop out
accidentally, and I remember a school teacher
telling me off for telling such terrible lies.
What are your earliest artistic memories?
Strangely many of my memories are of slightly
unsettling images. My dad, Toby, is an antique
dealer, and during his time in Paris with mum in the
50’s, slowly became a specialist in early English
oak furniture. This had a strong influence on me
as I recall being as tall as a table which had
gnarled carved legs, in which I imagined all sorts
of strange creatures. Our family home in southern
France, has paintings all over the walls, some
painted by my grandmother and some by artists
that my grandfather supported in his Champs
Elysées gallery, and now many by my mother
too. The subjects were often confusing for a child
and my cousins and I would dash past some of
the scary ones in an excitement of giggles. My
grandmother would sit me down and ask me to
keep still while she sketched me, my uncle would
squat by the riverside with his knees around his
ears, painting the beautiful riverside views of dry
Provence. Stones would be painted upon, walls,
anything really. Painting and making things were
as natural to us all as cooking lovely meals to eat
together.
What made you want to tell this story now?
Well, Lydia is the one who needed to tell the story,
and she asked various friends to help out and
write it, but it wasn’t that easy. I have lived near
Lydia for around 23 years, since my eldest son was
born and I watched her getting more and more
frustrated. It dawned on me that I already know
most of the story, I know how mum talks and thinks,
I know Provence and so it just seemed natural
Questions for
Isabel Coulton
that I should do it. Luckily I had no idea what I
was taking on, ignorance is often a great help
and Lydia somehow always manages to get what
she wants. It has actually been a wonderful thing
to do. I have enjoyed the conversations we have
had together which invariably went off at tangents
onto all subjects and it has been an interesting
challenge in many ways, I have learnt so much. I
have also discovered I really like writing. So I am
grateful to have done it.
What insight do you think your book gives us into
the artist/model relationship?
Well, I can see this from several points of view. As
a sculptor myself I understand the fascination
you can have by a subject that moves you. As a
mother of 3 in middle age I appreciate the beauty
of youth, the shocking fragility and strength of the
young. Understanding how Lydia must have been
at the age of 19 after the horrible experience she
had as a child, I believe that the artist/model
relationship in the case of Picasso and my mother
was pure in a way that came about from the two
individuals that they were. Picasso with the eye of
an artist was captivated by her unusual demeanour
and beauty, and once he met her he must have
been intrigued if not troubled by her silence and
shut off composure. As a man with a history of
liking women, if she had been coquette-ish (can
you say that?) and encouraged him to dally, maybe
the story would have been different. However as
a sensitive artist, minutely aware of the slightest
angle of a girl’s neck, the delicate position of
the hands, the peculiarity and touching habit of
nibbling grass, he describes her in perfect detail. I
would say that an artist respects his model, and
Picasso respected her, loved her for her simplicity
and the inspiration she gave him.
What do you think of the work your mother inspired
Picasso to create?
Wow! The answer to that question is wrapped
up in many emotions. We were so lucky that
Christoph Grunenberg put together an exhibition
in 2014 in Bremen, Germany because we had
the chance to see so many of the works together
and in chronological order. The early sketches
are wonderful and detailed showing his skill as
a draughtsman which I have always liked about
him. The early paintings are simple, angular and
you can see his mind working out what it was he
wanted to investigate in his subject. The silent,
blank girl. The paintings then blossom out into a
celebration of Sylvette and he goes wild, working
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in the cubist way, describing her almond eyes, her
curling tendrils of hair that come up against the
straight long neck and jutting chin. I think they are
strong, thoughtful paintings and sculptures, and I
think that in the Woman with the Key sculpture, he
was trying to tell her something. I wonder…? Was
he saying take the key to a happy life? Of course
it’s moving to see my mum painted by the most
famous artist that I know, and the fairy tale story I
told as a child suddenly became a reality in 2014,
and not just a good yarn.
What would you like readers to take away from
this book?
I really hope that readers enjoy reading it, and
find it interesting firstly. Then I hope that I have
achieved what Lydia wanted and thirdly I would
hope by sharing Lydia’s life with all its ups and
downs, people will feel stronger to follow their
good instincts. We are all human and all make
mistakes. Life is a journey, difficult for all of us
and hopefully there is joy in this book that can
accompany the reader through his or her difficult
moments. Lydia is full of love and I hope some of
that rubs off. I hope we have done Picasso a good
service for showing his caring, kind and nurturing
side, as mum has always been thankful to him for
what he gave her.
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