An inspiring account of three women artists who pioneered new forms of the nude.

Even in the bohemian world of avant-garde Paris, certain rules had to be obeyed. One of these rules was that women artists did not paint nudes. Yet three women would challenge this prohibition, offering their own distinct takes on the classic genre.

Suzanne Valadon, Émilie Charmy and Marie Vassilieff painted in different styles, but they were united in their fascination for the nude. Their artistic explorations saw them experimenting with a range of cutting-edge subjects, including the male nude, the Black female nude, the pregnant nude and the nude self-portrait, a genre that few artists would tackle until half a century later.

Painting her pleasure situates the work of Valadon, Charmy and Vassilieff within and against modernism, drawing parallels with later feminist artists and philosophers. Unravelling the complexities of early twentieth-century gender regimes and persistent cultural stereotypes, it provides an illuminating history of women, sexuality and the body.

'Cleanly dismantles one of the enduring myths of twentieth-century modernism: that ground zero in advancing the avant-garde was the female nude — as painted in Paris by two men.'
Bridget Quinn, Hyperallergic

'Painting Her Pleasure is a rare treat... the book as a whole adds considerably to current thinking on representations of female pleasure.' - French Studies Journal

Lauren Jimerson, PhD is a Paris-based art historian specialising in women artists and modern European art. Her work has been recognised through grants from the Mellon Foundation as well as a Fulbright Scholarship to France. Jimerson has contributed to exhibitions on women artists at museums such as the Barnes Foundation, Musée de Montmartre, Musée du Luxembourg and Centre Pompidou Metz. Her expertise has also led her to appearances on NBC's The Today Show and France 24 as an art history commentator. Beyond her research, she lectures to diverse audiences through her online art history platform Art with Friends and in museums across the globe.