George Barbier (), né Georges Augustin Barbier, (1882–1932) was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century.

Biography

Born in Nantes,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 16 October 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 Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

illustrations. For the next 20 years Barbier led a group from the Ecole des Beaux Arts who were nicknamed by ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' "The Knights of the Bracelet"—a tribute to their fashionable and flamboyant mannerisms and style of dress. Included in this élite circle were Bernard Boutet de Monvel and

Pierre Brissaud Pierre Brissaud (23 December 1885 – 17 October 1964) was a French Art Deco illustrator, painter, and engraver whose father was Docteur Edouard Brissaud, a student of Docteur Charcot. He was born in Paris and trained at the École des Beaux-Ar ...

(both of whom were Barbier's first cousins),

Paul Iribe Paul Iribe (8 June 1883 – 21 September 1935) was a French illustrator and designer in the decorative arts. He worked in Hollywood during the 1920s and was Coco Chanel's lover from 1931 to his death. Early life and career Joseph Paul Iribe was b ...

, Georges Lepape, and Charles Martin. During his career Barbier also turned his hand to jewellery, glass and wallpaper design, wrote essays and many articles for the prestigious ''

Gazette du bon ton The ''Gazette du Bon Ton'' was a small but influential fashion magazine published in France from 1912 to 1925.Davis48 Founded by Lucien Vogel, the short-lived publication reflected the latest developments in fashion, lifestyle and beauty during ...

''. In the mid-1920s he worked with

Erté Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, from the French pronunciation of his initials (, EHR TEH). He was a 20th-century artist and designer in an a ...

to design sets and costumes for the

Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...

and in 1929 he wrote the introduction for Erté's acclaimed exhibition and achieved mainstream popularity through his regular appearances in ''

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris from 1843 to 1944. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in France then, after 1906, the ...

'' magazine. Barbier died in 1932 at the very pinnacle of his success. He is buried in

Cemetery Miséricorde Cemetery Miséricorde is one of the major cemeteries in Nantes, France. It is located in the Hauts-Pavés - Saint-Félix district. It was opened in 1793 and over 10,000 graves have been placed their between then and 2010. Gallery Cimetière Mis� ...

, Nantes.

George Barbier Untitled pochoir from 1922 Corrard edition Chansons de Bilitis

References

* Georges Lepape, Paul Iribe, and George Barbier. ''L'éventail Et La Fourrure Chez Paquin''. (Paris: Maquet, 1911). * René Kieffer, ed. ''Dessins de George Barbier'', 1920. *George Barbier. ''Falbalas et Fanfreluches Pour 1925''. (Paris: Meynial, 1925). **Madeleine Ginsburg, ed. ''Art Deco Costumes'' (London: Bracken Books, 1988). Reproduces the complete plates from the almanacs ''Falbalas et fanfreluches'', by George Barbier, Meynial, Paris, 1922-1926.

Secondary Sources

*Edmond Jaloux. ''George Barbier, Vingt-Cinq Costumes Pour Le Théâtre''. (Paris: C. Bloch & J. Meynial, 1927). *Jean-Louis Vaudoyer, Henri Régnier, and Charles Martin. ''George Barbier''. (Paris: Henry Babou, 1929). *Frederica T. Harlow, ed. ''The illustrations of George Barbier: in full color'' (New York: Dover Publications, 1977). *Kris Somerville. ''George Barbier: The Knight of the Bracelet''. (Columbia, Mo: College of Arts & Science of the University of Missouri—Columbia, 2006). *Barbara Martorelli. ''Pictures of Elegance''. (Twickenham, Middlesex: Guineapiguana Publications, 2008). *''Barbier Fashion: Postcards''. (Mineola, N.Y.: Dover, 2011). *Hiroshi Unno. ''Joruju Barubie: Yūbi to Gensō No Irasutorētā eorge Barbier : Master of Art Deco : Fashion, Illustration and Graphic Design' (Tōkyō: Pai Intānashonaru, 2011).

Exhibition Catalogs

*''Catalogue of an Exhibition of Watercolours by Artists of the Gazette Du Bon Ton''. (London: Fine Art Society, 1914). Exhibition at the Fine Art Society in London, June 1914. *''Le bon ton: 1910-1950: Mode, Theater und Gesellschaft: Originalzeichnumngen von Léon Bakst, George Barbier, Christian Bérard, Eduardo García Benito, Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape, Francis Marshall, and André-Edouard Marty.'' (München: Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, 1990). Catalogue of an exhibition held at Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, München, 5 Oct. 1990 - 31 Jan. 1991. *Barbara Martorelli. ''George Barbier: La Nascita Del Déco''. (Venezia: Marsilio, 2008). . Catalog of an exhibition held at the Museo Fortuny, Venice, Italy, Aug. 30, 2008-Jan. 5, 2009. **Barbara Martorelli. ''George Barbier: The Birth of Art Déco'' (New York: Rizzoli, 2009). English translation. *Jean E. Laboureur, Shigeru Kashima, and Hiroko Ono. ''Barubie X Raburūru: Āru Deko, Shikisai to Senbyō No Irasutorēshon'' (Tōkyō : Kyūryūdō, 2012). . Catalog of an exhibition held at Nerima Kuritsu Bijutsukan, Tokyo, April 8-June 3, 2012. *Arthur M. Smith. '''Chevalier Du Bracelet': George Barbier and His Illustrated Works'' (Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Library, 2013). . Catalogue of an exhibition held at the

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addit ...

, Toronto, Ontario from 30 September - 20 December 2013.

External links

*
Art Deco Prints Posters Pochoirs
at www.art-deco-prints-and-posters.com
The Romance of Perfume by George Barbier
at www.finevintageart.com/george-barbier * video about George Barbier from Tom Vaughan-Johnston {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbier, George 1882 births 1932 deaths French illustrators Modern artists Art Nouveau illustrators Art Deco artists LGBT artists from France

Biography

References

Further reading

Publications by Barbier

Secondary Sources

Exhibition Catalogs

External links