This is the story of three women — one an orphan and refugee who finds a place in the studio of a famous French artist, the other a wife and mother who has stood by her husband for nearly forty years. The third is his daughter, caught in the crossfire between her mother and a […]
The ultimatum that changed Matisse for ever
Seething passion and scandal are absent from most accounts of Henri Matisse, says Sophie Haydock, author of Madame Matisse. Yet, after four decades of devoted marriage, his wife issued an ultimatum that changed everything. Here Sophie writes about the three woman in Matisse’s life. Henri Matisse was 69 years old when his wife, Amélie – […]
The Flames by Sophie Haydock
A new century is dawning. Vienna in 1912 is at its zenith, an opulent, extravagant city teeming with art, music and radical ideas. It is a place where anything seems possible… Edith and Adele are sisters, the daughters of a wealthy bourgeois family. They are expected to follow the rules, to marry well, and produce […]
Honouring Adele, Egon Schiele’s muse
When Sophie Haydock was researching her debut novel, The Flames, she was surprised to discover the burial place of one of the subjects of her book, unmarked and unremembered. This is the story of how she became determined to make sure Adele Harms’s life, and name, would be recognised and honoured. I walked past grand […]
The Flames by Sophie Haydock
This is the story of four muses. Women whose bodies were shown in intimate detail, depicted by the charming yet controversial artist Egon Schiele. But who were they? Adele: his passionate and fierce admirer.Gertrude: his spirited and possessive sister.Vally: his independent and proud model.Edith: Adele’s quiet and conventional sister. Or was she? The Flames reimagines […]