Barbier created a new fusion between fashion and art illustration with his beautiful pictures depicting willowy women in fashionable dresses, and his pictures became important depictions of fashion and life in the 1920s.
Born in 1882, Barbier lived in Paris from 1908 and nourished his love of classical antiquity by exploring the collections in the Louvre. His fascination with the ancient artefacts, especially the figures depicted on Greek vases, greatly influenced his work and depiction of women and the human body.
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In Paris, he put on his first show in 1911. It was a great success and it led to Barbier creating and leading a group with artists from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, which was affectionately nicknamed 'The Knights of the Bracelet' by Vogue. Other members of the Knights of the Bracelet included leading fashion illustrators and artists such as Georges Lepape and Paul Irebe, who were masters in their own right at producing bold fashion illustrations that were unlike any that had been seen before. The bold stylised designs helped create the emerging Art Deco aesthetic, presenting fashion in a new and exciting way.
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After World War I, Barbier became editor and journalist for some Parisian magazines, one of which was La Vie Parisienne, and illustrated for many other fashion magazines, books and journals whilst also founding his own luxury magazines, named Falbalas et Fanfrelyches. These magazines enabled Barbier to experiment with colours. At the time, he was influenced by the Ballet Russes, a Parisian-born ballet company, and used stencils for the publication of his colour plates, continuing his unique illustration style.
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The stunning and iconic figures that Barbier depicted epitomised the 1920s fashion ideal and his reputation soon reached across the globe, where he began to produce advertising artwork for brands such as Cartier and Elizabeth Arden. Alongside his artworks, he also produced essays on fashion and designed theatre costumes, jewellery and fans. On his early death at the age of 50 in 1932, he had become one of the most well-known and highly regarded artists of the Art Deco era.
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This is an updated version of an article originally published on 23 March 2015