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

This fashion plate, Madrigal, was made in 1921-1922 by G-P. Joumard, using ink and watercolor. I’m really drawn to the material qualities of this image. It's as much about mark-making as it is about dress-making. I can imagine the artist, Joumard, hunched over a table in a Parisian studio. Maybe the room is filled with sketches, swatches of fabric, and the lingering scent of ink. There’s such a nice economy to the line work, and the colors—blacks, whites, and reds—have this crisp graphic punch. The vertical lines create a sense of structure. The composition is both representational and abstract, precise and intuitive. It makes me think about what it means to create an image of style, and how fashion itself has been a conversation between art and life over time.