Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costumes Parisiens, 1913, No. 57 : Robe de cachemir (...) 1913

J. Renée Souef made this print, ‘Journal des Dames et des Modes, Costumes Parisiens, 1913, No. 57’, sometime in 1913. I love how the artist is playing with the graphic image and how the flat shapes create the illusion of three dimensions. It’s like she's thinking about what makes an image, how it comes into being – shifting, emerging through trial, error, and intuition. I imagine she's trying to capture a certain mood or feeling. There is a playful quality to the piece - maybe this character is excited to go out on the town with her dog and wear her new garments! The artist is playing with the physicality of the medium, pushing the boundaries of how it shapes our experience and its emotional resonances. The whole thing has a wonderful rhythm to it – artists are in conversation with each other across time, inspiring each other's creativity. And it's a reminder that painting is a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and uncertainty.