Picasso’s Muse

WORDS . CLAIRE MEADOWS

After Nyne meets

Lydia Corbett

& Her Daughter Isabel

A F T E R N Y N E

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Q & A : A F T E R N Y N E M E E T S L Y D I A C O R B E T T

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Sylvette David (now Lydia Corbett), is one of the few

living sitters of Pablo Picasso, and certainly one of the few

who had no romantic links to the artist.

She met him aged 17 in France and he was captivated

by her shyness and her distinct style - she pioneered the

ponytail and long skirt that became synonymous with the

50s. Allegedly Brigette Bardot took her style from Lydia

having seen Picasso's exhibition in the 50s.  During the 3

month friendship between Picasso and Lydia he produced

over 60 portraits of her across a range of mediums. 

Lydia is currently living in Devon and is a widely

respec ted ar t i s t in her own r ight . She was formerly

represented by the celebrated gallerist Francis Kyle.

The book combines photographs and Picasso's work with

dozens of artworks created by Lydia over her long career. I

Was Sylvette: The Story of Lydia Corbett was written by

Lydia's daughter and is due to be published in mid-October.

Lydia will be speaking in late November at an event hosted

by the National Portrait Gallery in conjunction with their

Picasso Portraits exhibition.

After Nyne met Lydia and her daughter Isabel ahead

of the launch of the book to talk about this fascinating story.

P R E V I O U S P A G E :

The cow which jumped over the moon,

Lydia Corbett

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A F T E R N Y N E M E E T S L Y D I A C O R B E T T

T H I S P A G E :

Modelling in London, Lydia Corbett © Endeavour London Family Archives

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Lydia, tell us about the journey that led you

to Vallauris

I was 17 when my mother moved from ‘Dieulefit’

(where I was bought up) to ‘Vallauris'. I was

actually at school in England then, at Summerhill

in Suffolk. My mother moved there because there

were pottery and ceramic workshops where she

could get work with her partner Fonsou as he was

a potter. Because our income was so low we used

to get food on a tab with a beautiful, lovely Italian

lady who was very friendly she was very kind and

often gave us food. Tobias/Toby (my boyfriend

from Summerhill) and I stayed with my mum after

we finished at Summerhill along with my mothers’

boyfriend and his son. I dragged along in a dream

wherever Toby went, he became like my father/

mother - I would hang off his arm. In Vallauris Toby

found a workshop in the “Fournas” and Picasso’s

workshop was near there on the top overlooking

us. As I was with Toby every day he saw me and

I think he drew me before we spoke. Tobias loved

creating as well so he made sculptures and chairs

- a trade he had learnt with Terence Conran in the

days before Habitat when they shared a flat in

London. I made little clay figures like the crib - my

inspiration from my school days in Dieulefit, taken

from the Christmas story of Jesus. (since I turned

seventy I have gone back to making cribs, so it

is funny.)

The landscape of Vallauris was like a circus with

potteries all around, many chimneys and not very

pretty but it had the Place de L’ homme au Mouton

and the castle which had a nice space where

Piccaso made the War and Peace fresco.

What were your first impressions of Pablo Picasso?

Picasso was a lovely gentle clean-shaven man

with lovely deep black eyes like a deep pool of

water, and he looked at me with such excitement

and inspiration in his eyes, nothing sexual at all.

Although being an artist he most probably would

have liked to have painted me nude.

The decision to model for him - did he explain why

he was inspired by you?

Yes he said to me “I like your hair dangling down

the neck” you know I had the pony tail hairstyle, “I

love your hair” And he liked my long neck.

Were you happy with the works based on you

he produced?

Yes I loved them because I liked the simplicity of

them and the boldness and then he made me

choose one, I chose the one that looked most like

me.

Did you get to keep any of them?

I kept the drawing for a little while but then I had

to sell it because I had no money, but he didn't

mind. He also gave me a book with his autograph

and he stuck a print of my portrait in it too. He also

gave me an oil  painting portrait of me that was

one meter wide. The A4 drawing I sold was of me

with all my dangly hair around my face and I was

wearing the grey coat that Toby had made for me.

His great-grand father was a tailor in Bohemia and

had passed on his talent to Toby.

Had art always been a prominent part of your life?

Yes my mother as long as I can remember painted,

my father collected art and my grandfather painted

watercolours. On the island she painted portraits

of people, I remember her sitting on a rock and

painting with her fingers.

In your work, what are your own inspirations? 

I love flowers of all sorts of colours I create a

picture where the table cloth can become the

landscape, I tell bible stories. My family, friends,

children, animals, birds, fishes, the sea and boats

all inspire me. Actually it is the celebration of God

in Life; when I paint I'm not sad!! 

What would you like readers to take away from

the book?

Anything that touches their heart because life is

a learning process and a journey. It is “La Dance

de la vie” the name of one of my paintings which

is being shown by David Simon Contemporary Art

on the 14th - 27th October, at Beside the Wave

Gallery in Primrose Hill. For example today I am

in hospital with a broken ankle and I am sketching

Questions for

Lydia Corbett

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A F T E R N Y N E M E E T S L Y D I A C O R B E T T

from my bed. I’m drawing all the pain and suffering

with my difficult vision as I see things blurred now.

It has shown me life in a different way and I hope

that people get touched. Creativity is happiness

and very healing.

What has been your proudest achievement?

The first time I had an exhibition at the Francis Kyle

Gallery  in Maddox Street, London then I showed

there for 25 years. I also have paintings on a

whole floor at the Dorchester Hotel. Finally seeing

all the paintings of me by Picasso in Bremen

Germany. Christoph Grunnenburg phoned up and

asked, "would you like to see all the portraits of

Picasso in our museum?” You know this has been

my dream for over sixty years now it has come

true and so now I’m in hospital and life goes on,

what is next?

T H I S P A G E T O P :

Woodie and Picasso © Endeavour London

Corbett Family Archive

T H I S P A G E B O T T O M :

Lydia Corbett, Delphinium,

Camaret Courtyard © David Simon Contemporary

N E X T S P R E A D :

College, Andre Villers© Endeavour London

Corbett Family Archive

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A F T E R N Y N E

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Isabel, when were you first made aware of your

mother’s Picasso connection?

I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t a part

of our life.  It was a story I knew about and

accepted, as if everybody had a Picasso moment

in their lives. I was always surprised when people

looked shocked if the story happened to pop out

accidentally, and I remember a school teacher

telling me off for telling such terrible lies.  

What are your earliest artistic memories?

Strangely many of my memories are of slightly

unsettling images.  My dad, Toby, is an antique

dealer, and during his time in Paris with mum in the

50’s, slowly became a specialist in early English

oak furniture. This had a strong influence on me

as I recall being as tall as a table which had

gnarled carved legs, in which I imagined all sorts

of strange creatures. Our family home in southern

France, has paintings all over the walls, some

painted by my grandmother and some by artists

that my grandfather supported in his Champs

Elysées gallery, and now many by my mother

too. The subjects were often confusing for a child

and my cousins and I would dash past some of

the scary ones in an excitement of giggles.  My

grandmother would sit me down and ask me to

keep still while she sketched me, my uncle would

squat by the riverside with his knees around his

ears, painting the beautiful riverside views of dry

Provence. Stones would be painted upon, walls,

anything really. Painting and making things were

as natural to us all as cooking lovely meals to eat

together.

What made you want to tell this story now?

Well, Lydia is the one who needed to tell the story,

and she asked various friends to help out and

write it, but it wasn’t that easy.  I have lived near

Lydia for around 23 years, since my eldest son was

born and I watched her getting more and more

frustrated.  It dawned on me that I already know

most of the story, I know how mum talks and thinks,

I know Provence and so it just seemed natural

Questions for

Isabel Coulton

that I should do it. Luckily I had no idea what I

was taking on, ignorance is often a great help

and Lydia somehow always manages to get what

she wants. It has actually been a wonderful thing

to do.  I have enjoyed the conversations we have

had together which invariably went off at tangents

onto all subjects and it has been an interesting

challenge in many ways, I have learnt so much. I

have also discovered I really like writing. So I am

grateful to have done it.

What insight do you think your book gives us into

the artist/model relationship?

Well, I can see this from several points of view. As

a sculptor myself I understand the fascination

you can have by a subject that moves you. As a

mother of 3 in middle age I appreciate the beauty

of youth, the shocking fragility and strength of the

young. Understanding how Lydia must have been

at the age of 19 after the horrible experience she

had as a child, I believe that the artist/model

relationship in the case of Picasso and my mother

was pure in a way that came about from the two

individuals that they were. Picasso with the eye of

an artist was captivated by her unusual demeanour

and beauty, and once he met her he must have

been intrigued if not troubled by her silence and

shut off composure. As a man with a history of

liking women, if she had been coquette-ish (can

you say that?) and encouraged him to dally, maybe

the story would have been different. However as

a sensitive artist, minutely aware of the slightest

angle of a girl’s neck, the delicate position of

the hands, the peculiarity and touching habit of

nibbling grass, he describes her in perfect detail. I

would say that an artist respects his model, and

Picasso respected her, loved her for her simplicity

and the inspiration she gave him.

What do you think of the work your mother inspired

Picasso to create? 

Wow!  The answer to that question is wrapped

up in many emotions.  We were so lucky that

Christoph Grunenberg put together an exhibition

in 2014 in Bremen, Germany because we had

the chance to see so many of the works together

and in chronological order.  The early sketches

are wonderful and detailed showing his skill as

a draughtsman which I have always liked about

him. The early paintings are simple, angular and

you can see his mind working out what it was he

wanted to investigate in his subject. The silent,

blank girl.  The paintings then blossom out into a

celebration of Sylvette and he goes wild, working

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in the cubist way, describing her almond eyes, her

curling tendrils of hair that come up against the

straight long neck and jutting chin. I think they are

strong, thoughtful paintings and sculptures, and I

think that in the Woman with the Key sculpture, he

was trying to tell her something. I wonder…?  Was

he saying take the key to a happy life? Of course

it’s moving to see my mum painted by the most

famous artist that I know, and the fairy tale story I

told as a child suddenly became a reality in 2014,

and not just a good yarn. 

What would you like readers to take away from

this book?

I really hope that readers enjoy reading it, and

find it interesting firstly. Then I hope that I have

achieved what Lydia wanted and thirdly I would

hope by sharing Lydia’s life with all its ups and

downs, people will feel stronger to follow their

good instincts. We are all human and all make

mistakes.  Life is a journey, difficult for all of us

and hopefully there is joy in this book that can

accompany the reader through his or her difficult

moments.  Lydia is full of love and I hope some of

that rubs off. I hope we have done Picasso a good

service for showing his caring, kind and nurturing

side, as mum has always been thankful to him for

what he gave her.

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