Incantation 1923

George Barbier made this illustration, Incantation, sometime in the 20th century in France. There's this real softness to the color palette, a hazy, muted quality that I think speaks to the dreamlike state that art can take us to. You get the sense that Barbier's process was all about layering delicate washes to create these subtle tonal shifts. Looking closely, the texture is so smooth, almost like it's been airbrushed, but you can still detect the handmade quality. Notice the small details, like the ornate patterns on the dresses. These elements shape the emotional landscape of the artwork. The eye is drawn to the fingers of the standing women resting on the piano, such a subtle but significant gesture, maybe a signal to start or stop. It connects the figures, and ties the visual plane together. Barbier's work really strikes me as a precursor to illustrators like Erte, who also embraced art deco style. And like all great art, this piece embraces ambiguity, inviting us to bring our own experiences and interpretations to the table.