SURVIVAL AND REVIVAL
While Paris was under German occupation during World War II, Sonia Delaunay, who was of Jewish descent, fled to the zone libre in the South of France. During the autumn of 1941, her life took a tragic turn when Robert Delaunay died. The widowed artist moved to Grasse to live with her friends Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943), with whom she found companionship and artistic inspiration. Although the war disrupted regular activity and interfered with some artistic projects due to a lack of materials and the rarity of commissions, Delaunay’s journal entries from this time reveal a daily routine that was productive and creatively rich. She busied herself with efforts to secure Robert’s artistic legacy, painted gouaches, produced designs for textile entrepreneur Robert Perrier (1898–1987), and engaged in small acts of political resistance. After the liberation, Delaunay returned to Paris and shifted her focus back to abstract painting. Creating large canvases for the first time in many years, she developed a new formal vocabulary drawing on earlier work, but also introduced an expanded range of color and form that revitalized her art.
SURVIVAL AND REVIVAL
While Paris was under German occupation during World War II, Sonia Delaunay, who was of Jewish descent, fled to the zone libre in the South of France. During the autumn of 1941, her life took a tragic turn when Robert Delaunay died. The widowed artist moved to Grasse to live with her friends Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943), with whom she found companionship and artistic inspiration. Although the war disrupted regular activity and interfered with some artistic projects due to a lack of materials and the rarity of commissions, Delaunay’s journal entries from this time reveal a daily routine that was productive and creatively rich. She busied herself with efforts to secure Robert’s artistic legacy, painted gouaches, produced designs for textile entrepreneur Robert Perrier (1898–1987), and engaged in small acts of political resistance. After the liberation, Delaunay returned to Paris and shifted her focus back to abstract painting. Creating large canvases for the first time in many years, she developed a new formal vocabulary drawing on earlier work, but also introduced an expanded range of color and form that revitalized her art.
While Paris was under German occupation during World War II, Sonia Delaunay, who was of Jewish descent, fled to the zone libre in the South of France. During the autumn of 1941, her life took a tragic turn when Robert Delaunay died. The widowed artist moved to Grasse to live with her friends Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943), with whom she found companionship and artistic inspiration. Although the war disrupted regular activity and interfered with some artistic projects due to a lack of materials and the rarity of commissions, Delaunay’s journal entries from this time reveal a daily routine that was productive and creatively rich. She busied herself with efforts to secure Robert’s artistic legacy, painted gouaches, produced designs for textile entrepreneur Robert Perrier (1898–1987), and engaged in small acts of political resistance. After the liberation, Delaunay returned to Paris and shifted her focus back to abstract painting. Creating large canvases for the first time in many years, she developed a new formal vocabulary drawing on earlier work, but also introduced an expanded range of color and form that revitalized her art.
While in forced exile in Grasse, abstract artists Jean Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Alberto Magnelli, and Sonia Delaunay collaborated on a series of drawings, each of which was created by two or three members of what came to be known as the “Group of Grasse.” While there was an attempt to publish them as a print portfolio during the war, the project was interrupted by the occupation of southern France. Six years after the liberation, in 1950, these artworks were finally published in Switzerland.
While in forced exile in Grasse, abstract artists Jean Arp, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Alberto Magnelli, and Sonia Delaunay collaborated on a series of drawings, each of which was created by two or three members of what came to be known as the “Group of Grasse.” While there was an attempt to publish them as a print portfolio during the war, the project was interrupted by the occupation of southern France. Six years after the liberation, in 1950, these artworks were finally published in Switzerland.
Paris: Aux Nourritures terrestres
1950
Lithographs
The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York, MoMA Manhattan Special Collections Oversize, NE647.4.J43 1950
Paris: Aux Nourritures terrestres
1950
Lithographs
The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York, MoMA Manhattan Special Collections Oversize, NE647.4.J43 1950
In November of 1941, after the death of her husband, Sonia Delaunay moved to the Château Folie in Grasse to live with artist-friends Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943). There, she found a community of exiled artists including Alberto Magnelli (1888–1971) and his wife, Susi (1906–1994), as well as Nelly van Doesburg (1899–1975), who visited regularly from Lyon.
In November of 1941, after the death of her husband, Sonia Delaunay moved to the Château Folie in Grasse to live with artist-friends Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943). There, she found a community of exiled artists including Alberto Magnelli (1888–1971) and his wife, Susi (1906–1994), as well as Nelly van Doesburg (1899–1975), who visited regularly from Lyon.
Alberto Magnelli (1888–1971), Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Nelly van Doesburg, Jean Arp, and Sonia Delaunay at the Château Folie, Grasse, 1942. Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth, III-91a.
Alberto Magnelli (1888–1971), Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Nelly van Doesburg, Jean Arp, and Sonia Delaunay at the Château Folie, Grasse, 1942. Stiftung Arp e. V., Berlin/Rolandswerth, III-91a.
While isolated in Grasse, Sonia Delaunay took solace in painting, producing over eighty abstract compositions between 1942 and 1943. Though supply shortages dictated the format and materials she was able to employ, such constraints also allowed Delaunay’s creativity to flourish. Once back in Paris, she expanded upon these wartime studies, painting large, vibrant canvases in oil that would usher in a veritable revival of her artistic career.
While isolated in Grasse, Sonia Delaunay took solace in painting, producing over eighty abstract compositions between 1942 and 1943. Though supply shortages dictated the format and materials she was able to employ, such constraints also allowed Delaunay’s creativity to flourish. Once back in Paris, she expanded upon these wartime studies, painting large, vibrant canvases in oil that would usher in a veritable revival of her artistic career.
1943
Watercolor on paper
Collection of Tamar Cohen
1943
Watercolor on paper
Collection of Tamar Cohen
DIGITAL INTERACTIVE
The period between 1940 and 1944 was one of the most turbulent in Sonia Delaunay’s life. As an avant-garde artist of Jewish descent, she was in constant danger of persecution, yet she continued to create art and built an impressive network of support during this time of crisis.
The Delaunays fled just two days after the occupation of Paris. Initially headed for Vichy, capital of the “free zone,” they moved further south to Mougins and Montpellier. Robert had been ill since 1938, but his health declined rapidly and he died on October 25, 1941. Sonia then lived with the artists Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) in Grasse until the Italian occupation of southern France on November 11, 1942, caused the Arps to flee to Switzerland. As German forces took over Grasse, Sonia moved to Toulouse before finally returning to Paris on November 1, 1944.
Delaunay recorded her life in her journals and extensive correspondence, which serve as powerful testament to her resilience amid personal and global chaos.
The period between 1940 and 1944 was one of the most turbulent in Sonia Delaunay’s life. As an avant-garde artist of Jewish descent, she was in constant danger of persecution, yet she continued to create art and built an impressive network of support during this time of crisis.
The Delaunays fled just two days after the occupation of Paris. Initially headed for Vichy, capital of the “free zone,” they moved further south to Mougins and Montpellier. Robert had been ill since 1938, but his health declined rapidly and he died on October 25, 1941. Sonia then lived with the artists Jean Arp (1886–1966) and Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889–1943) in Grasse until the Italian occupation of southern France on November 11, 1942, caused the Arps to flee to Switzerland. As German forces took over Grasse, Sonia moved to Toulouse before finally returning to Paris on November 1, 1944.
Delaunay recorded her life in her journals and extensive correspondence, which serve as powerful testament to her resilience amid personal and global chaos.
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Text written by Noah Dubay
2023
