The Rediscovered Brigitte Bardot Portrait by Kees van Dongen
Kept out of public view for more than sixty years in Kees Van Dongen’s studio, the portrait of Brigitte Bardot painted in 1959 reappears today. This large-format oil on canvas (130 x 97 cm), set against a yellow background of an intensity characteristic of the artist’s palette, comes directly from his estate.
Estimated at €800,000 - 1,200,000, this work by Van Dongen will be one of the highlights of the Selected 20/21 auction organised by Artcurial on October 24th, 2026, alongside Art Basel Paris.
Kees Van Dongen (1877-1968)
Portrait of Brigitte Bardot, 1959
Estimate: €800,000 - 1,200,000
This portrait bears witness to the meeting of two icons of the 20th century: on one side, Kees Van Dongen, the painter of Parisian high society and portraitist of the most celebrated personalities of his time; on the other, Brigitte Bardot, who within just a few years became the embodiment of modernity, female freedom and international stardom.
18 works by Kees Van Dongen, also coming directly from his estate, will be offered in the upcoming Selected 20/21 auction.
A meeting between two legends
When Kees Van Dongen painted this portrait in his Paris studio at 75 rue de Courcelles, he was at the height of his fame. A resident of Monaco with a particularly active social life, the former Fauvist had become the favorite portraitist of international high society. He immortalised many of the most prominent personalities of his era, from Arletty and Maurice Chevalier to Sacha Guitry.
Facing him was Brigitte Bardot, a global phenomenon since the success of d’Et Dieu… créa la femme (And God Created Woman), Roger Vadim’s landmark 1956 film. Their meeting was arranged by Paris Match on 12 September 1959. The photographer Izis captured this now legendary sitting, documenting the encounter between one of the last great masters of modern painting and the woman who was becoming the face of a new, free-spirited and audacious femininity.
Against a vibrant yellow background, Van Dongen portrays the actress with the incisive line that became his signature: a direct gaze, luminous complexion and remarkable economy of means. The resulting work, enigmatically titled B.B. aux yeux d’autruche (B.B. with Ostrich Eyes), ranks among the most accomplished paintings of the final years of his career.
The story between Van Dongen and Bardot began a few years earlier. In 1954, when the young woman was still a promising actress, the painter produced a first portrait during a televised session organised at Maurice Chevalier’s home in Marnes-la-Coquette. Five years later, with Brigitte Bardot now an international icon at the height of her fame, she visited Van Dongen’s Paris studio on rue de Courcelles, where the artist created this luminous and masterful portrait, a work that would enjoy considerable acclaim.
In her memoir Initiales B.B., Brigitte Bardot recalls how deeply impressed she was by her encounter with the painter, whom she regarded as a towering figure of the art world.
This portrait quickly achieved wide circulation: a lithograph edition was produced in 150 copies, accompanied by 21 artist’s proofs. In 1964, it was selected to illustrate the poster and catalogue of the Salon des peintres témoins de leur temps at the Musée Galliera, an institutional recognition that confirmed its status as a major work of its period and as a symbol of a transition between two eras: that of early twentieth-century Parisian artistic life and that of a globalised popular culture, of which Brigitte Bardot became one of the first great icons.
Preserved for more than sixty years within the artist’s family circle, this portrait comes directly from the Kees Van Dongen estate. Its reappearance constitutes a genuine rediscovery, offering collectors a rare opportunity to acquire a work combining impeccable provenance, a universally recognised subject and a singular place in French cultural history.
Poster for the exhibition Les peintres témoins de leur temps at the Musée Galliera, 1964
© DR
Information
Auction
Selected 20/21
Saturday, October 24th, 2026
Exhibitions
Monaco
From July 4th to 8th, 2026, 11 am – 6 pm
Hôtel Hermitage Monte-Carlo
Square Beaumarchais, 98000 Monaco
Artcurial, Paris
From October 19th to 24th, 2026, 10 am - 6 pm, and 10 am - 4 pm on Saturday
Contacts
Hugues Sébilleau, Associate Director
+33 1 42 99 16 35
Sophie Cariguel, Specialist
+33 1 42 99 20 04