Cléo de Mérode

Color aquatint and soft-ground etching on wove paper, 1900.
Reference: Koehl E110.
Edition of 50.
Signed and numbered in pencil.

Cléo de Mérode (1875-1966), was a French dancer born out of wedlock to an Austrian Baroness and a lawyer who was married and didn't recognize her. During the Belle Époque her fame and beauty became legendary, and she is often claimed to be the first modern celebrity. Her celebrity transcended her dancing skills, which were nevertheless widely admired, due to her photogenic beauty and the widespread distribution of her images by famous photographers. She also became a fashion icon with her signature chignon hairstyle, sparking trends adopted as far and wide as the United States. Her image graced postcards, playing cards, and other memorabilia, making her a household name long before the age of social media.