L’Air 1922 - 1926

George Barbier conjured "L'Air," with ink and watercolour, a scene of elegant figures amidst clouds and floating objects. I can imagine him sketching, adding layers, the ink bleeding slightly into the paper, each stroke deliberate yet playful. You can see a woman in a rose-patterned dress reaching up, maybe towards a lost hat carried by the wind. The artist probably delighted in the texture of the leaves, rendering them with tiny strokes to capture the rustling movement. The balloon escaping into the sky must represent something! Maybe dreams of adventure. There's a connection with the futurists here, but less concerned with speed than beauty. Artists often talk to each other like that, across time and place, building on each other’s ideas and processes. It’s fun to imagine how the making of this artwork might have come about, its own kind of dance. The artist is the choreographer. The artwork an invitation.