Tag Archives: kees van dongen

Modern Art Monday Presents: Kees van Dongen, Modjesko, Soprano Singer

modjesko soprano singer photo by gail worley
Photo By Gail

Modjesko was a popular drag performer in Paris in the early years of the twentieth century. Art critic, Félix Fénéon, included this portrait in several exhibitions at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, including the group show Portraits of Men.  In 1909, he signed artist Kees van Dongen to a seven-year contract. Both anarchists, van Dongen and Fénéon shared a desire to advocate for the rights of socially marginalized people.

Modjesko, Soprano Singer (1908) was Photographed in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.