['Journal des Dames et des Modes: the Fashion Illustrators', 'Journal des Dames et des Modes: Fashion News'] 1912
drawing, print
portrait
drawing
art-nouveau
caricature
history-painting
Dimensions height 180 mm, width 110 mm
Here, in this 1912 pochoir print by George Barbier, we witness a symphony of symbols that whisper tales of cultural memory and aspiration. The rose motif adorning the robe is not merely decorative. Throughout history, from ancient Greece to the Renaissance, the rose has symbolized love, beauty, and often, secrecy. Its recurrence here in a modern fashion plate connects the ephemeral world of Parisian haute couture to centuries of artistic and literary tradition. Even the plumage atop her head, while a fashionable embellishment, evokes images of ancient headdresses. We might recall similar adornments worn by figures in classical sculpture. The feathers, like the rose, resonate with a sense of beauty and refinement. What truly compels is how these symbols are reimagined. They are echoes, shadows of the past, yet imbued with the spirit of a new era. It is a cultural echo—a testament to how symbols never truly die, but are endlessly reborn, reflecting the ever-shifting landscape of human desire and memory.
Comments
['The Journal des Dames was inspired by the eponymous fashion magazine from the previous century and, like the earlier publication, referred to its illustrations as Costumes Parisiens. These Costumes Parisiens (184 illustrations in total) were drawn in a new, flat, decorative manner by George Barbier, Jan van Brock, Victor Lhuer and other Parisian artists, each with a signature style. Every issue came with two or three separate plates. These showed a wide variety of fashionable apparel, from elegant evening attire to outdoor outfits. A brief caption provides the name of the garment and the material from which it was made, but never the name of a fashion house.', 'The Journal de Dames et des Modes was marketed towards the affluent, sophisticated elite. The text consisted of literary contributions and articles on various topics written by leading Parisian literati. The fashion commentaries discussed the full spectrum of new trends, such as ‘strolling bareheaded by motorcar,’ matching the colour of one’s dress to that of one’s automobile, the impracticality of small umbrellas, the wearing of sky-blue and grass-green wigs, and the vogue among women for large flat hats or for the small toques adorned with feathers that projected from their foreheads like antennae.']
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