Jacques Henri Lartigue was fascinated by women throughout his life, from a very young age… his mother, relatives or friends, wives and mistresses. One such woman was Renée Perle, a stunning fashion model who became Lartigue’s lover for two years. Lartigue’s 1930-1931 albums are almost exclusively filled with photographs of her – she never tired of posing – that reflect the passionate relationship between the artist and his subject. It has been said that Lartigue’s photographs of Renée are among his most strikingly beautiful images.
Farid Abdelouahab’s book Muses examines the artist/muse relationship in a selection of twenty-five portraits of women who enchanted artists with their special character, beauty, talent, or charm.