Gazette du Bon Ton, 1924 - No. 7 : La Belle de chamonix / Jaquette hermine et renard blanc, de Max-A. Leroy 1924

Charles Martin made 'La Belle de Chamonix' in 1924, as a print. The color palette is muted, almost as if a photograph has faded over time. The lines are decisive, suggesting a careful, deliberate process. The print has a subtle texture, a kind of granular feel, particularly in the background, which reminds me that this is not a painting, but a series of marks carefully placed to create an image. The way the fur trim is rendered, with those little flicks of white, speaks to the touch of the artist. I keep coming back to the contrast between the sharp lines defining the figure's clothing and the soft, almost blurred background. There's a quiet tension between the crispness of the foreground and the haziness behind her. The print feels like a stylish echo of Hiroshige's snow scenes, filtered through a Jazz Age sensibility. It's a reminder that art is always in conversation with what came before, and what is yet to come. The work embraces ambiguity, inviting us to linger in the space between clarity and suggestion.