Sonia Delaunay-Terk was from a poor Russian family. She was adopted by a rich uncle, who sent her to study art in Karlsruhe, Germany. She went to Paris, had her first solo exhibition there in 1908 and was part of the circle of Picasso, Braque, and Vlaminck. Sonia Terk married the artist Robert Delaunay. Together they experimented with simultaneous contrast und developed ‘Orphism’. It was their goal to contrast pure music with pure painting. Costumes and stage designs for Serge Diaghilev brought her to fashion and design, with which she earned the family’s keep for many years. She received a gold medal for a mural at the Paris World Fair of 1937. She became known for the ‘Rhythme’ series. In 1964 Sonia Delaunay-Terk was the first woman to receive an exhibition at the Louvre during her lifetime, and in 1975 she was made an ‘Officier de la legion d'Honneur’.