Art - Goût - Beauté, Feuillets de l' élégance féminine, Noël 1928, No. 100, 9e Année, p. 36 1928

This fashion plate appeared in a 1928 edition of “Art - Goût - Beauté” and is rendered using watercolour and ink on paper. It looks like a straightforward illustration, but there is more going on than meets the eye. The colour palette is mostly pastel; the peach and cream tones are quite soft and elegant, and the hand of the artist feels delicate, too. Look closely, though, and you’ll see a confidence of line in the draughtsmanship that hints at the artist's process, the process of distilling and resolving the composition. The surface is thin and smooth, typical of print media, but the image contains many textural elements, fur, pleats, and gathers that invite the eye. The artist uses shadow to create depth and volume, bringing the figures to life, even within the constraints of the page. It reminds me of the work of Erte in its use of line and form, but there's something in the tonal range and the focus on the textural qualities of the fabrics that makes this piece particularly interesting. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation with itself, across time, trends, and media.