Fernande Olivier was an aspiring artist who was also a model and first mistress to Pablo Picasso, frequently appearing in his works of his formative years.
In 1908, Olivier lived in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris with Picasso, and often spent time with him and his fellow Cubist, Georges Braque.
In September, she accompanied Picasso to Le Lapin Agile when he showed some of his latest sketches to Edgar Degas, who felt that Picasso's new style was going to ruin art. As Picasso shouted that he could outdo the old master, Olivier apologized to Degas, who left angrily. Later that day, she posed in a washtub for Picasso as he began to chalk out a practice piece for his "Degas". While he began to paint the real painting, she and Braque showed their guests, Norman Rockwell and Indiana Jones, around the studio and explained Cubism to them.
After Picasso had finished the painting, Olivier accompanied them to a restaurant, and danced with young Jones. When the two pimps showed up accusing Picasso of stealing their prostitutes (who had also joined the group for dinner) and a brawl started, Olivier pushed over one of pimps then joined Picasso out of harm's way. After leaving the restaurant in a hurry, she and Braque scrounged the empty marketplace for leftover oranges while Picasso explained his view of art to their new young friends.
The next evening, Picasso held an elaborate party for Henri Rousseau above Le Lapin Agile, and Olivier acted as a hostess. She introduced Rockwell and Jones to some of the other guests: Mr. Kahnweiler, an art dealer, Gertrude Stein, and Alice B. Toklas. After Miss Seymour arrived, interrupting Rousseau's ghost story, Picasso took her away at gunpoint, leaving Olivier with Jones to reassure the boys that the artist meant no harm to the tutor.
The next day at the restaurant, Olivier felt that Picasso's plan to trick Degas into signing a fake Degas painted by Picasso was cruel. When Picasso revealed the deception, Jones responded by offering to sell Kahnweiler his Picasso-signed cubist sketch (actually drawn by Rockwell). When Picasso objected, saying that it was not one of his pieces, Olivier took it and asserted that it was indeed one of his works, eventually getting Picasso to falsely take credit for it.
Behind the scenes[]
Nathalie Cardone played Fernande Olivier in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: "Paris, September 1908".