Born in Nantes, France in 1882, Barbier was influenced by the active life of the French port. The artist loved seeing the exotic trade with the East when he was growing up. The products from the East included ivory, liquor and rich fabrics. He put the bright colors and peasant-style embroidery that he saw into his art and designs. Barbier also liked the grand 17th and 18th buildings of the old sea-port. He also visited the city’s art museums, which included works by Watteau and Ingres.
Barbier’s Career
Surprisingly, the artist’s career did not take off until he was 30 years old. Barbier’s first exhibition was at the Salon des humoristes in 1911 where his art was highly praised. Soon he was illustrating for books and writing and illustrating for magazines. His career would also involve designing costumes, wall-paper, glass and jewelry.
Barbier became one of the “Knights of the Bracelet.” This was a nickname given by Vogue to a group of artists, such as Paul Iribe and Pierre Brissaud, because of their fashionable and flamboyant dress and manner. Many of these artists used the new media of pochoir printing – involving hand-stenciling and layers of color added with gouache paint – for their modern fashion illustrations.
His attractive, feminine figures with their cupid-bow mouths and slim forms appeared in many fashion art-garde magazines. The most famous of these was the Gazette du Bon Ton. He mainly painted his illustrations for the great couturier, Worth.
Barbier also illustrated “editions de luxe.” These books were collector’s items because they were printed in limited editions and they were famous for the high standard of printing required. Many collectors would wait for them each month, avidly reading the column about the newest editions in the magazine, L’Amour de l’Art. The artist did “editions de luxe” of the stars of the Ballets Russe, Nijinsky and Karsavina. He also made illustrations of Anna Pavlova, with whom he became friends.
The artist’s costumes for theatre and Hollywood also impressed people. Luxurious and exotic, his costumes were also praised for being authentic to historical eras. He designed costumes for the play, Casanova, and the film, Monsieur Beaucaire, starring Valentino. He also designed spectacular creations with feathers and jewels for the Folies Bergere.
Barbier died in 1932 at the peak of his career.
Sources
- Barbier Georges Pochoir Artist Illustrator
- Georges Barbier
- Georges Barbier
- Barbier, Bracken Books, London, 1988
Lisa Sanderson - Lisa has been a freelance-writer for many years. She used to write for the topic, British Social History, for Suite 101 under the ...
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