Romance sans paroles 1922

George Barbier created this pochoir print around 1922. The pochoir technique, using stencils to apply color, was a popular commercial method for reproducing fashion plates and illustrations. It was valued for its ability to create rich, vibrant colors and textures. Here, Barbier’s material choice profoundly influences the artwork’s appearance. The flat, solid blocks of color and crisp outlines are a direct result of the pochoir process, giving the image a graphic, stylized quality. The limited tonal range and emphasis on line and pattern contribute to the overall Art Deco aesthetic, capturing the fashionable styles and leisure activities of the upper class in the 1920s. The process is tied to broader social issues of production and consumption, as pochoir allowed for the mass production of luxury images, catering to the growing demand for fashion and lifestyle content. By focusing on the materials and making of “Romance sans paroles,” we can appreciate how it blurs the lines between fine art and commercial craft.