Regatta-Time's Pleasant, Richmond 1933

Jean Dupas made this lithograph poster, "Regatta-Time's Pleasant, Richmond", and the colors here are just so subtle and muted, almost like a watercolor, which makes you think about the softness of the river landscape. Looking closely, there's this real tension between the stylized figures and the almost graphic quality of the flags, it's like Dupas is setting up a stage. The women themselves, they're not quite real, they're more like statues, elegant and frozen in time, they look like they are made from chalk. What I find interesting here is the way Dupas contrasts the almost classical figures with the very modern, almost abstract, arrangement of flags. It's like he's playing with different ideas of beauty and sophistication, referencing the past while very much being in the present. This reminds me of Tamara de Lempicka and her stylized portraits, she was obsessed with the same thing: classicism and art deco. In the end, we're left with a sense of timeless elegance and it makes you want to dive into the water!