- 48
Mario Prassinos
Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
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Description
- Mario Prassinos
- Bessie enchainee
- signed and dated 63 lower left; titled and dated Juillet 63 on the reverse
oil on canvas
- 162 by 97cm., 63¾ by 38¼in.
Provenance
Private Collection, Toulouse
Sale: Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2009, lot 640
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Catalogue Note
Painted in 1963, the present work is an explosive representation of a chained Bessie Smith, that evokes the history of repression of Bessie's African-American forefathers, and less literally the difficulties and tragedies the singer faced throughout her life.
Bessie Smith (1894-1937) (fig. 1) was an American vocalist known as the 'Empress of the Blues'. She was widely regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era, and with Louis Armstrong was a major inspiration for subsequent jazz vocalists. From her humble birth in Chattanooga, Tennessee to her tragic death following a car collision, Bessie led a colourful existence, peppered with wild successes, stints in obscurity and many love affairs.
This vibrant life, tinged with drama and scandal, attracted Prassinos to Bessie as a subject. Prassinos was especially drawn to the brutal injustice of the rumour that Smith had died following a car accident on Route 61 between Tennesse and Mississippi, having been refused entry into a whites-only hospital. The present work can be seen to refer to this record of injustice with the figure of the shackled Bessie, much as the later work Bessie au manteau (or Bessie ensanglantée) alludes to her violent death.
After contemplating the chanteuses Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday as possible muses, Prassinos decided on Bessie Smith. Assembling an archive of photos of and films featuring the singer, records of her music as well as facts about her physique, Prassinos built an affecting body of work depicting the singer in different poses and manifestations. Most of these works, the present work included, were executed in 1963-64.
Bessie Smith (1894-1937) (fig. 1) was an American vocalist known as the 'Empress of the Blues'. She was widely regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era, and with Louis Armstrong was a major inspiration for subsequent jazz vocalists. From her humble birth in Chattanooga, Tennessee to her tragic death following a car collision, Bessie led a colourful existence, peppered with wild successes, stints in obscurity and many love affairs.
This vibrant life, tinged with drama and scandal, attracted Prassinos to Bessie as a subject. Prassinos was especially drawn to the brutal injustice of the rumour that Smith had died following a car accident on Route 61 between Tennesse and Mississippi, having been refused entry into a whites-only hospital. The present work can be seen to refer to this record of injustice with the figure of the shackled Bessie, much as the later work Bessie au manteau (or Bessie ensanglantée) alludes to her violent death.
After contemplating the chanteuses Edith Piaf and Billie Holiday as possible muses, Prassinos decided on Bessie Smith. Assembling an archive of photos of and films featuring the singer, records of her music as well as facts about her physique, Prassinos built an affecting body of work depicting the singer in different poses and manifestations. Most of these works, the present work included, were executed in 1963-64.