Robert Delaunay was quite the trendsetter.

Though you don’t hear about him quite as often as you probably hear about Picasso or Matisse, Delaunay should not be ignored. He developed an entirely new movement called Orphism, which may sound like some orifice-related disease or fetish, but I assure you was not. Orphism was basically just a style that added color to Cubism and was purely abstract. The movement didn’t last very long, but we have it to thank for Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, and Abstract Expressionism in general.

It all started in 1885 in Paris. Little Robert was born to George Delaunay and Berthe Félicie de Rose, who was exactly as pretentious as her name let on. She referred to herself as ‘Countess’ despite to fact that she wasn’t one and adored society life to the detriment of her family life. She and George divorced when Robert was four, after which he went to live with his aunt and uncle in Bourges. Delaunay left something to be desired as a student so his uncle sent him to apprentice in theater design. From there he got into painting, which dictated the course of the rest of his life. Soon he met a nice, talented artist named Sonia Terk who was married to Wilhelm Uhde, a gay German gallery owner, and art critic. Sonia and Robert’s connection was undeniable (they became one of the most iconic art historical couples ever) and when Sonia became pregnant with Robert’s baby, she and Wilhelm divorced.

For 30 years Sonia and Robert collaborated and advised each other on their work. Sonia often had to become the breadwinner due to Robert’s less than reliable success. She designed clothes and opened up boutiques while Robert focused on his work. After the break out of World War I and the declaration of Robert as unfit for service due to an enlarged heart and a collapsed lung, the two worked together with the Ballet Russe, Robert designing the stage and Sonia designing the costumes. Their financial situation fluctuated throughout the years (at one point they had to sell their Henri Rousseau painting, The Snake Charmer to the Louvre for 50,000 francs) but their love never did. They stayed together until Robert’s death in 1941. Sonia spent much of the rest of her life trying to draw attention to her husband’s legacy by selling his work to museums and exemplifying his style into her own work. But not everyone loved the man the way she did. Gertrude Stein wrote about him, “He sees himself as a grand solitary figure when in reality he's an endless chatterbox who will tell anyone about himself and his significance any time of day or night.” Hey Gerty, sometimes self-promotion pays off!