Le Cadran Solaire 1921

George Barbier made ‘Le Cadran Solaire’ using pen, ink, and pochoir. It's got this dreamlike color palette of muted mauves, grays, and greens. Looking at it, I can imagine Barbier carefully applying each layer of color, building up the image bit by bit. I wonder what he was thinking when he made this. Was he trying to capture a fleeting moment of melancholy? I feel a sense of distance between the figures and the setting. The woman's pose, leaning against the sundial, hints at a world of unspoken emotions. You can see that even in her dress. It has a certain weightiness. The black stripes somehow convey the feeling of melancholy in an abstract way. I think he was a fashion illustrator, so it's not like he wasn't thinking about the cut of the cloth. Barbier's work reminds me of other artists like Erte and Charles Gesmar. They all seem to have tapped into the spirit of art deco fashion, which I find so seductive. These illustrators continue to inspire me, and it just goes to show how artists are in an ongoing conversation, exchanging ideas across time.