Voici mes ailes ! 1922

George Barbier made this print, “Voici mes ailes!” sometime in the early 20th century. Look at that woman! She’s standing there on a tiled floor, her arms held aloft, showing off sleeves that look like stained glass windows. I imagine Barbier at his drawing board, perhaps at night with a lamp casting a warm glow on the paper. He’s thinking about fashion, sure, but also about light and shadow, about the way fabric moves and drapes. Those sleeves, bursting with roses and vines, are like a painter's palette, a riot of color and form held in check by the graphic lines of the design. What I see in the upward lift of the sleeves is a reaching towards something, towards a future filled with color and light. She’s showing off her ‘wings’, offering something grand to her seated friend, but also to us viewers today. It’s like he's saying, “Here, look at this! Isn't it amazing what we can do with a little ink and imagination?” And it is. It really is.