Woman 1
Women: A Series
This piece, Woman 1, is part of a series by artist Willem de Kooning. He was a very famous artist Dutch artist. He lived a long life filled with art, fame, and a troubled relationship with his mom. In her book, Hustvedt shared her thoughts about the Woman Series and the influences of de Kooning. Certainly, the women he made said more about de Kooning than anything else. Hustvedt’s insights made this creation logical when she cited:
Cornelia Lassooy is de Kooning’s mother. I felt a lightbulb go off. Of course the women in the series look non-human. His mother was inhumane at times. So, instead of a warped and mutilated woman that a man made, now I see a child who had anger towards his mother. This painting reveals so much truth and that’s why I love it.In their biography of de Kooning, Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan describe the artist’s last meeting with his mother in Amsterdam, not long before she died. He described his mother as “a trembling little old bird.” And then, after he had left her, he said, “That’s the person I feared most in the world.” Cornelia Lassooy beat her son when he was a child. (17)
Side note: I really appreciate Hustvedt’s phrase: “Cornelia Lassooy beat her son when he was a child.” It centered de Kooning’s mother as the aggressor. It made her name known. Her actions were put on trial for the reader, not the trauma of de Kooning.