Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1934

George Barbier made this illustration, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, with some kind of printmaking process, at an undetermined date. The palette is so interesting here, those muted blues and browns, a kind of softness overall. It’s like a watercolor but there’s something hard-edged about the execution. Take a look at the way he’s rendered the dress of the woman being carried: it’s all delicate, layered curves, but the colors are so controlled and contained within these definite outlines. It’s sensual, like a confectionary sweetness. There is a tension between precision and looseness here, between control and spontaneity. It puts me in mind of Beardsley but with a light airy touch. The piece is not about one fixed meaning but offers an invitation to dream. Just like art is itself a continuous conversation, this piece makes me think that the artist was thinking of other artists too.