Gazette du Bon Ton, 1914 - No. 5, Pl. 49: La Commode en Laque. / Robe du soir de Worth. 1914

This print, made by Bernard Boutet de Monvel in 1914, shows a woman in a Worth evening gown standing by an Asian-style lacquered commode. I can only imagine how Monvel might have been thinking about line, form, and representation when he made this work. The woman in the gown is mostly lines, only given volume by the subtle shading behind her. She could almost be a ghost, yet she looks to be feeling the commode with her hand. What is she thinking? Where has she come from, or is she going? The commode is solid and present with its sharp edges and bright gold and red decorations on a black ground. The gown and commode play off each other in a strange dance of presence and absence. Fashion and painting are always talking to each other, inspiring each other. And we, the viewers, are included in the conversation.