Reclining Blue Nude

Reclining Blue Nude

Illustration Christina Röckl
Text  Nathalie Chaix
Translation from French by Lydia Dimitrow

Can ardent love be at once creative and destructive? The love story of the French painter Nicolas de Stael and his last muse Jeanne is based on historical facts.

Nathalie Chaix uses authentic correspondence between de Stael and his poet friend René Clair, in an attempt to describe the last period of de Stael’s life and work that turned out to be his most productive phase.

When de Stael met Jeanne he separated from his pregnant wife, but Jeanne, also married, repeatedly tried to cut their affair, leaving de Stael in self-doubts which ultimately lead to his suicide.

Christina Röckl created expressive interpretations of this explosive relationship. Her illustrations appear next to Nathalie Chaix’s poetic fragments which relate the painter’s life. A genuine artist novel, in all respects!

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