Coco and Pablo among others

During the continuous Paris party of the 1920’s Coco became famous. In the book ‘Getting Along Famously’ by Melissa Hellstern the columnist Henry Bernstein described Coco’s Faubourg Saint-Honore home in this way; ‘... delicate and endless reflections of mirrors, sumptuous lacquers and white violence of legions of peonies.....’     

Into this scene many up and coming artists drifted. For a time Pablo Picasso kept a room at Coco’s Paris apartment. The images in this blog will give you an idea of what Pablo was creating at this time. 

She also helped Igor Stravinsky and his family find a home and offered financial assistance. Igor the Russian composer, pianist and conductor became famous for the music for three ballets he composed for Sergei Diaghilev. Sergei was the founder of the Ballets Russes. Stravinsky went on to be considered one of the most (according to Time) influential people of the 20th century.

The artists, musicians and designers who worked with Sergi besides Chanel and Picasso, were Braque, Matisse and Miro among others.      
  
What a fascinating time this must have been and there was Coco in the thick of it. She had started out her fashion career making hats and she went on to become the first fashion designer to be properly received into Parisian society.  

Coco stated

‘Life as actually experienced is of little account. 

But the life one has dreamed of 
that’s what matters, 

because it will continue after one’s death’

The impact of Coco and the many other great artists who surrounded her life certainly continues today. I am very grateful that while studying visual art we had lectures with dance, music and drama students and studied these topics as well. This helped developed an appreciation of the links between all the creative arts and how the can inform and inspire each other.