Falbalas et fanfreluches, Colin-Maillard 1925

Here’s an illustration by George Barbier, 'Falbalas et fanfreluches, Colin-Maillard', made sometime around the 1920s. I love how Barbier approaches color here, it's almost nonchalant, as if he’s throwing them together to see what happens, and what happens is pretty damn stylish. There's something about the materiality that grabs me. It's flat, like old-school printing, and the colors are super saturated. Look at the way he renders the columns, those smooth marble-like surfaces. He is using color to describe form, but in such a cool, detached way. It’s like he’s saying, “Yeah, it’s marble, but let’s not get too fussy about it.” Then there's the mark-making: confident outlines and graphic patterns, really holding those colors in place. Barbier's got this playful, decorative thing going on, similar to someone like Erté, maybe? It's not about deep meaning, it's about surface, style, and pure visual pleasure. And you know what? I'm totally here for it. Art doesn’t always have to be so serious, sometimes, it can just be a bit of beautiful fun.