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.