Lydia Corbett (born Sylvette David, 14 November 1934) is a French-English artist and former

artist's model An art model is a person who poses, often nude, for visual artists as part of the creative process, providing a reference for the human body in a work of art. As an occupation, modeling requires the often strenuous ' physical work' of holding ...

known for being "the girl with the ponytail" in

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

's ''Sylvette'' series of paintings and a 1970 sculpture.

Early life

Corbett was born Sylvette David in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to an English mother and a French father. Her mother, Honor Gell – who was an

oil painter Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

and the daughter of a

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

– moved to

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

in the 1920s. Corbett's father was

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationsh ...

Emmanuel David. After her birth, Corbett's parents' marriage broke down, leading to her father being absent throughout much of her childhood. In the spring of 1954, when Corbett was nineteen, she met

, who was "immediately entranced" by her. Picasso had a studio on Rue du Fournas in

Vallauris Vallauris (; ; Niçard subdialect: ''Valàuri'') is a seaside commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area (and is today effectively an ext ...

, and Corbett – then known as

Sylvette ''Sylvette'' is a large concrete sculpture created by Pablo Picasso and the Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, which was erected in the city of Rotterdam in 1970. It is located on the corner of Westersingel next to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. T ...

– would often walk past the artist's window en route to meet her

fiancé An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''f ...

. A few weeks later, Corbett was chatting with friends while smoking and drinking coffee when she spotted Picasso in his studio next door, holding up one of his pictures. The picture was a simple portrait of her, executed from memory. "It was like an invitation," she later recalled, so she and her friends went to knock on his door. Picasso was so happy to see her that he embraced her immediately. "I want to paint you, paint Sylvette!" he cried. In the months that followed, between April and June, Picasso persuaded Corbett to sit for him regularly and created a series of more than 60 portraits of her in various media, including drawings and sculptures as well as 28 paintings. In the summer of 1954, the "Sylvette" series was exhibited in Paris to critical acclaim. ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine announced a new epoch in Picasso's art – his "Ponytail Period" – and

Brigitte Bardot Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot ( ; ; born 28 September 1934), often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying characters with Hedonism, hedonistic life ...

is said to have adopted Sylvette's style after seeing her walking along the promenade in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

Career

Corbett started drawing to pass the time while she sat for Picasso, often posed in a rocking chair. She later married and, in 1968, moved to England, signing her work with her married name to avoid capitalising on her fame as a painter's

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

. She began painting seriously, using both oil paint and watercolour, in her 40s, and has been represented by Francis Kyle Gallery since 1989. In 1991, her work was exhibited in Japan, and in 1993, a documentary film on Picasso and Corbett was shown on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

to coincide with the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

's exhibition of Picasso's paintings. Corbett's own work has also been exhibited at the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

, and she counts the Anthony Petullo Foundation among her clients. In 2014, Corbett marked her 80th birthday with an exhibition at the Francis Kyle Gallery in London. Corbett's studio is based in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Personal life

Her daughter Alice is married to the former England rugby captain

Lawrence Dallaglio Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio (born 10 August 1972) is an English retired rugby union player. He is a former captain of England, and a 2016 inductee of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Dallaglio played as a flanker or number eight for London ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Lydia 1934 births Living people 20th-century French painters French women painters Muses (persons) Painters from Paris 21st-century French women artists 21st-century French painters 20th-century French women 20th-century women painters 21st-century women painters