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George Barbier French illustrators of the early 20th century

George Barbier (1882 - 1932) portrait by Charles Martin

Born in Nantes, France on October 10, 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and ballet costumes, to illustrate books, and to produce haute couture fashion illustrations.

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George Barbier studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and began his career as a costume and set designer for the Ballets Russes. Barbier is considered one of the very finest illustrators in the Art Deco genre, although much of his work is done in a Greek classic style influenced by his love of antiquities.Barbier was passionate about dance and illustrated many books on the subject. Renowned for his work in costume and fashion illustration, Barbier also explored poster art, textile and wallpaper design, packaging and postcards.His books, particularly those done in collaboration with Francois-Louis Schmied are masterpieces in Art Deco book illustration. These titles include "Les Chansons de Bilitis," 1922; "Personnages de Comedie,"1922; "Poemes en Prose," 1928; and "Vies Imaginaires," 1929.

Barbier's women were sophisticated and innocent, the men suave and elegant. Other outstanding titles include "Les Cantiques de Cantiques," 1911; "Le Bonheur du Jour," 1924; "Falbalas et Fanfreluches," 1919-1924; and "Les Fetes Galantes," 1928. Barbier imbued his images with a luxury and decadence that has come to exemplify Art Deco's Golden Age. Magnificently illustrated by George Barbier and designed by Schmied, the edition of Maurice de Guérin’s two tales, ‘The Centaur’ and ‘The Bacchante,’ features thirty woodblock images, all in full color and highlighted in gold and silver. Although Schmied only began doing illustrated books at age 50, the resulting work comprises some of the best Art Deco books ever produced. Obsessing over every detail of a book’s production, he was involved in everything from selecting the paper to designing the illustrations and typefaces on each page

Barbier was a regular contributor to such fashion periodicals as "Journal Des Dames et Des Modes," "Gazette du Bon Ton," and "Modes et Manieres d'Aujourd'hui" in which he illustrated creations from the finest fashion houses of Worth, Lanvin and Poiret.

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Arangement: Sanda Foişoreanu

www.slideshare.net/michaelasandaSound: Cecilia Bartoli - Tarantelle, song for voice & piano (Bizet)