Maria Ricotti in ‘The Temptress’

Kees van Dongen (Dutch/French, 1877-1968) - Maria Ricotti in ‘The Temptress’, 1921 (Oil on canvas. Musée d'art Moderne de la Ville de Paris) - -  In this portrait, as in others from this period, Van Dongen demonstrates remarkable mastery of colour and light. The bright tones of his Fauvist period have given way to a more measured palette, in which greens, blues and greys replace the incandescent reds and oranges of his early years. His painting nevertheless retains its expressiveness…