Who is Marlene Dumas?
Marlene Dumas is a South African-born, Dutch-based contemporary artist, internationally acclaimed for her powerful, emotionally resonant paintings and drawings.
She was born in 1953 in Cape Town and has lived in the Netherlands since the late 1970s.
Her work often focuses on the human figure and explores intense themes such as: Love, sex, and death
Race and identity
Violence and guilt
Politics and vulnerability
Dumas is known for using photographs – personal and journalistic – as references, which she transforms through expressive brushwork into deeply psychological portraits.
Her style blurs the boundaries between intimacy and detachment, creating haunting and evocative imagery. The Painter (1994) Perhaps her most iconic work.
Depicts her young daughter nude, covered in paint, staring directly at the viewer.
Themes: innocence, creativity, perception of the artist, and female identity. Magdalena (1995) A provocative depiction of Mary Magdalene.
Interrogates religious iconography and sexuality. Dead Marilyn (2008) A portrait of Marilyn Monroe based on the morgue photo taken after her death.
Reflects on celebrity, mortality, and media exploitation. Osama (2010) A controversial painting of Osama bin Laden based on a widely circulated image.
Challenges viewers to confront how media and politics shape villainy. Lucy (2004) One of many works named after or inspired by real women.
Emphasizes the expressive quality of watercolor and fluid linework. The Image as Burden (1993) A smaller but symbolically heavy painting that inspired the title of a major retrospective.
Portrays a man carrying a limp woman, echoing themes of martyrdom, violence, and love.
Miss January (1997)
This artwork recently garnered significant attention when it sold for $13.6 million (R246 million) at Christie's in New York on 14 May 14 setting a new auction record for a living female artist.
'Miss January' is a towering oil-on-canvas piece measuring approximately 9 feet tall (281.9cm x 101.6cm).
It portrays a blonde woman standing confidently, nude from the waist down, wearing only a single pink sock.
The subject's direct gaze and assertive posture challenge traditional representations of the female nude, confronting viewers with themes of vulnerability, power, and the objectification of women.
Painted in 1997, the work revisits Dumas's earlier explorations of femininity and identity, echoing her first known drawing, 'Miss World,' created when she was just 10 years old.
Through expressive brushwork and a limited color palette, Dumas blurs the lines between intimacy and detachment, inviting contemplation on the complexities of representation and perception.
The sale of 'Miss January' not only established a new benchmark for Dumas's market value but also underscored her influence in contemporary art.
The painting was previously part of the esteemed Rubell Family Collection, known for its commitment to contemporary artists.
Marlene Dumas is considered one of the most important painters of her generation.
Her work is part of major collections, including: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
The Tate Modern, London
The Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
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