Robe de chambre 1913

George Barbier's Robe de chambre is like a stage set in ink and watercolor. It’s all about the gesture, the flat planes of color. It's confident, even audacious, the way it lays down those lines, thick and thin, letting the colors breathe within the boundaries. Look at the robe, how the red hums against that acid green waistcoat. It's as if Barbier is playing with the very idea of color, pushing it, prodding it, seeing how much tension he can create without breaking the surface. The lines are assured, but the color has a fluidity that makes it seem almost alive. You could say this piece has echoes of Matisse, in the way it uses color and line to create a sense of depth and space. And like Matisse, Barbier isn't afraid to let things be a little off, a little unresolved. That's where the real energy of the piece lives, in the space between what is and what could be.