Joie de vivre; Falbalas et Fanfreluches. 1923

George Barbier made ‘Joie de Vivre; Falbalas et Fanfreluches’ and I'm imagining he used gouache or watercolor. It’s a delicious dream of elegant leisure. Look at the way Barbier renders these figures. The bodies are almost flat, and the folds of the garments are indicated with the barest minimum of strokes. And those bright pops of rose, orange, and blue against the cool white columns are a total knockout. You get the sense Barbier isn’t trying to ‘capture’ anything as much as he’s riffing on an idea. For me, it’s like, what would it be like to just lounge around all day in a beautifully draped gown? Or to have someone look at you with such obvious adoration, like this guy in the tux. It’s fantasy, totally! Barbier was part of this incredible moment in French art and fashion illustration. People like Erté and Pierre Brissaud were doing similar things. It was all about capturing the mood of the moment, that post-war feeling of liberation. And these artists were in constant dialogue, pushing each other to new heights of style and imagination. It’s inspiring to see how they built on each other’s work, creating this whole world of beauty and desire.