Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti

Item Number: 30548

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Tamara de Lempicka paints herself behind the wheel of a green sports car — gloved hands on the wheel, a soft beige driving cap pulled low over the eyes, a long grey scarf draped at the throat. The fig...

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Description “Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti”

Tamara de Lempicka paints herself behind the wheel of a green sports car — gloved hands on the wheel, a soft beige driving cap pulled low over the eyes, a long grey scarf draped at the throat. The figure is built from clean planes in the Art Deco manner; the colour is held to deep saturated green of the car, warm cream of the gloves and scarf, and a single accent of red on the lips.

In a home, the picture suits a dressing area, a small private sitting room, a hallway with a tall mirror, or a study with mid-century furniture. The vertical proportion fits well between two narrow windows or beside a tall doorway.

The painting belongs to Lempicka's early 1930s Parisian portrait practice and is one of the most reproduced Art Deco self-figurations of the period. As an oil painting on canvas, the polished lacquered surface that defines Lempicka's style depends on real paint to keep its sheen — print tends to push it into something more matte. A slim chrome or polished walnut frame is the most coherent pairing. The canvas is hand-finished and ships ready to hang with corners reinforced.

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What is the subject and meaning of de Lempicka's Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti?

This iconic painting shows de Lempicka herself seated at the wheel of a racing-green car (often identified as a Bugatti, though it may be a Renault), dressed in grey driving gloves and a helmet, her gaze cool and direct. It is a declaration of modern feminine independence, speed, and self-determination — a woman who drives herself, literally and metaphorically, through life on her own terms.
What makes this self-portrait a masterpiece of Art Deco visual style?

The composition is a triumph of Art Deco design: the sleek metallic surfaces of the car and the streamlined treatment of the figure create a visual equation between woman and machine that perfectly captures the era's love of speed, modernity, and engineered beauty. De Lempicka's palette — grey, green, silver, and ivory — has an almost cinematic quality, and the diagonal thrust of the composition conveys forward motion and unstoppable energy. No other painter so completely fused human beauty with the aesthetic of the machine age.
When was this work created and why is it historically significant?

Painted in 1929 for the cover of the German fashion magazine Die Dame, this self-portrait instantly became an icon of the modern, emancipated woman of the Jazz Age. It was created at the peak of de Lempicka's fame, when she was one of the most talked-about artists in Europe and a symbol of artistic freedom and sexual liberation. Today it remains arguably the most recognized image of Art Deco painting and a touchstone of feminist art history.
How does a print of Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti transform an interior?

The painting's iconic status, bold graphic composition, and cool glamour make it one of the most powerful statement pieces available in modern art reproduction. It works in virtually any space — from a sleek contemporary living room to a boutique hotel lobby — projecting confidence, style, and an unmistakable sense of identity. For anyone who loves Art Deco, fashion history, or images of empowered womanhood, this is the defining choice.

Additional Information “Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti”

“In the Green Bugatti, De Lempicka painted herself as everything the modern woman could aspire to be — independent, powerful, beautiful, and in command of a machine that represents pure speed and freedom.” — Women and Modernism, 2008

“It is the defining image of the emancipated woman of the 1920s — and no one was more emancipated, or more self-aware, than De Lempicka herself.” — Tate Modern, 2004

#1. The Commission from Die Dame. Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti (1929) was created as a cover for the German magazine Die Dame — a publication for fashionable, modern women. The image of De Lempicka at the wheel of a racing car was both a self-portrait and a manifesto.

#2. She Didn’t Own a Green Bugatti. De Lempicka actually drove a small yellow Renault — the green Bugatti was aspirational fiction. But the image was so powerful that many believed it was autobiographical, and De Lempicka never corrected the impression.

#3. The Most Famous Art Deco Self-Portrait. This image has become one of the defining icons of the Art Deco era — reproduced on countless posters, in fashion editorials, and in exhibitions worldwide. It captures the spirit of the 1920s New Woman with an authority that no photograph has matched.

Show this portrait in a gallery wall or study, or a hallway. It works equally well above a console, a low sideboard, or a reading chair. It looks at home with deep green walls, wool rugs, and the relaxed feel of a period-friendly space. A portrait of this kind carries the room without competing visual elements crowding it. Place it at viewing height; the detail rewards a close look.

The artist faces two main challenges: the texture of fabric folds and the modeling of the face and hands. Reference is checked at multiple distances during painting — close for detail, far for overall balance. For portraits, getting the eyes and mouth right is more important than any other detail. Worked by hand in oil on canvas, the painting retains the brush marks that give it life.

The arrangement is intimate and direct. The chromatic range is kept narrow, with shifts of tone doing much of the visual work. Light is handled with restraint, modeling rather than dramatizing the forms. Distance shows the structure; proximity reveals the careful smaller choices that build it. The brushwork is handled to support the composition rather than to call attention to itself. Contour, weight, and value are kept in working agreement.