Here's an unlikely duo: the very young, very hot Brigitte Bardot with the aging artist Pablo Picasso, co-founder of the cubist movement. This colorized photograph from 1956 documents the time when they met at his studio on the French Riviera.
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The famous cubist painter had a reputation for seducing much younger women and pursuing affairs that could best be described as pedophilic, yet the sultry Bardot was not among his conquests. Perhaps it was because she was a fresh-faced 21-year-old, and he was a musty 74-year-old at the time that they met. Perhaps it was because Bardot, despite her sexpot image, was a strong, independent woman. Or perhaps it was because the entire meeting was photographed by Life magazine.
The Hottest Sex Symbol of Her Day
The steamy Brigitte Bardot. (groovyhistory.com)
Although she was only 21 years old in 1956, the French actress and singer Brigitte Bardot had 17 films under her belt and was a seasoned veteran in the entertainment industry. In many of her movie roles, including the nymph-like Juliette in “And God Created Woman”, Bardot played liberated, modern characters that showed women as sexually liberated. In 1959, in an essay by Simone de Beauvoir, Bardot was called the “first and most liberated woman of post-war France.” Despite her success in the entertainment industry, Bardot retired from acting in 1973, at the height of her career, to devote her time to animal rights activism, a cause that remains close to her heart.
A Pioneering Painter
Pablo Picasso was the founder of the cubism movement. (biography.com)
Although he was born in Spain in 1881, Pablo Picasso spent much of his adult life living in France. His artwork was innovative and groundbreaking. He was the cofounder of the Cubist movement and the Collage movement and was a key innovator in the Constructed Sculpture movement. He enjoyed a very long career that brought him fame and fortune and a degree of celebrity.
A Womanizer
Picasso had an attraction to young women. (vanityfair.com)
Pablo Picasso had a reputation for being a womanizer. He liked very young women. If he were alive today, he would be labeled a pedophile because some of the women he seduced were under the age of 18. One, according to reports, was 13 years old. According to speculation, Picasso believed his fame and fortune entitled him to whatever he wanted, including young girls. He may have been the Jeffrey Epstein of his day.
Bardot Meets Picasso
Life magazine photographed Bardot's meeting with Picasso. (pinterest.com)
In 1956, Brigitte Bardot was staying in the French Riviera where she planned to attend the Cannes Film Festival. Pablo Picasso’s workshop was set up in a villa in the French town of Vallauris, where Picasso had lived since 1948. Since Vallauris is close to Cannes, it was arranged for Bardot to pay a visit to the aging artist. Both Bardot and Picasso were huge celebrities at the time, so the meeting between the two was big news for the gossip sheets and celebrity tabloids. It was so big, in fact, that Life magazine sent a photographer to document the encounter.
Life Magazine
Bardot's youthful charm is balanced by Picasso's age and experience. (catawiki.com)
The popular American magazine Life was one of the world’s best loved magazines. It was founded in 1883 as a general interest publication, but in 1936, it was purchased by Time magazine publisher Henry Luce. Luce transformed Life into a photo-centric weekly magazine with stunning, high-quality photos of current events, entertainment news, and celebrities. In 1956, Life magazine’s editors had sent photographer Jerome Brierre to Cannes to cover the star-studded film festival. Spying a good story, Brierre accompanied Bardot during her visit to Pablo Picasso’s studio.
Picasso Never Painted Bardot
Did Bardot copy to hairstyle of Picasso's favorite model? (mashable.com)
Contrary to popular belief, Pablo Picasso did not use the meeting to have Brigitte Bardot pose for one of his paintings. In fact, Picasso never used her as inspiration for any of his pieces, even though he was often inspired by other beautiful young women that he met. It has been claimed, however, that Bardot took inspiration from Picasso, or rather one of Picasso’s favorite models, Lydia Corbett. After the meeting between Bardot and Picasso, Corbett claimed that Bardot saw her at Cannes and shortly thereafter, began to mimic Corbett’s signature hairstyle, a high, blonde ponytail, which she wore when she met Picasso.
Nothing to See Here
Is Picasso flirting, or playing a grandfatherly role? (pablo-ruiz-picasso.net)
If photographer Jerome Brierre and the readers of Life magazine expected to see Picasso behave like a dirty old man plying his seductive ways on the nubile Bardot, they were disappointed. While Picasso may have tried to flirt, Bardot acted professionally and courteously, while maintaining total control of the situation. Although young, she was professional and experienced enough to shut down unwanted advances. Many years later, while working as an animal rights activist, Bardot quipped that she could sympathize with animals because she “knew what it felt like to be hunted.”
