Biedermeier Fashion 1908

Urban Janke made this drawing of a Biedermeier dress probably sometime in the early 20th century. It's all line, line, line! Orange and green verticals in the skirt, contrasted with dots and frills on the dress. All these marks create a very specific idea of fashionable taste. The drawing is small, intimate, on paper, with the look of something dashed off, or maybe carefully considered? See how the yellow ribbon at the waist is the brightest part of the picture. It sits just under the black lace collar, which is itself set against a white dotted fabric. Then, there's the rose, held delicately, echoed by stripes of pink in the skirt. It's as if Janke is thinking about fashion as a whole system. I'm reminded of Erté, the art deco artist, but something about the flatness here also makes me think of a much earlier artist, like Holbein. In the end, though, this is just one artist having a conversation with art history, filtering it all through his own sensibility.