Toujours Chic Hiver, Les Robes 1921-1922: Emeraude 1921 - 1922

Curator: At first glance, the composition reminds me of Erté’s work; a certain flair is definitely evident. It gives off an immediate sense of cool sophistication, almost detached. Editor: You’ve got a keen eye! This is actually an illustration from the 1920s by G-P. Joumard, titled "Toujours Chic Hiver, Les Robes 1921-1922: Emeraude," currently housed in the Rijksmuseum. It is rendered with drawing on paper, a very popular medium to reproduce and share illustrations with a broader public. Curator: Drawing on paper lends it this almost…fragile elegance. I like the strategic use of line—see how the rigid black bordering juxtaposes the overall curvilinear form? And that calculated asymmetry adds to the mystique! It encapsulates the fashionable female ideal during the early interwar period. Editor: Yes, this piece exemplifies Art Nouveau influences while signaling a shift to a slightly more geometric style that would define the later Art Deco era. You see this especially in the angular folds of the jacket and hat. Emerald is the colour palette du jour, I presume? What do you reckon the story of this piece is, besides high-end luxury? Curator: If one wants to adopt a post-structuralist interpretation, one could claim the subject, with its heavily disguised physiognomy, challenges the bourgeois perception of female subjectivity. Are we gazing upon a mere ornament, a shell that veils a potentially liberated feminine persona beneath those artful layers of haute couture? Is this chic consumerism, or resistance through subversive means? Editor: Ooh, that's intriguing. I see her now, not just as some cold, chic thing, but as almost secretive. Like she has her own agenda tucked away in that little card case. The rigidness in color only reinforces her private inner life, a stark contrast against the soft femininity. Thanks to you, now I see how this illustration, rendered using rather commonplace materials, holds an entire story beneath its glamorous facade. Curator: Precisely! It seems our dual contemplation has unveiled hidden semiotic nuances that would otherwise lie dormant under the veneer of superficial beauty.