Personal Life
Satie and Suzanne Valadon, an artists' model and artist in her own right, and a long-time friend of Miguel Utrillo (and mother of Maurice Utrillo), began an affair early in 1893. After their first night together, he proposed marriage. The two did not marry, but Valadon moved to a room next to Satie's at the Rue Cortot. Satie became obsessed with her, calling her his Biqui, and writing impassioned notes about "her whole being, lovely eyes, gentle hands, and tiny feet". During their relationship, Satie composed the Danses gothiques as a kind of prayer to restore peace of mind, and Valadon painted a portrait of Satie, which she gave to him. After six months she moved away, leaving Satie broken-hearted. Afterwards, he said that he was left with "nothing but an icy loneliness that fills the head with emptiness and the heart with sadness". It is believed this was the only intimate relationship Satie ever had. Intriguingly, a rare autochrome photograph of Satie exists that dates from 1911. It was reproduced on the cover of Robert Orledge's book on the composer (1995). But where this autochrome was found has not been made known.
A provocative biographical novel Suzanne of Love and Art by Elaine Todd Koren includes the affair between Satie and Valadon, and the relationship between mother and son (Utrillo).
Read more about this topic: Ballets By Erik Satie
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