Deux élégantes: design for the cover of 'Les Modes'

This drawing is a design for the cover of the Christmas 1919 issue of the magazine Les Modes. The two women here depicted are influenced by the Japanese aesthetic that de Feure adopted while working with Siegfried Bing, who had been a pioneer in establishing the influence of Japonisme on Art Nouveau. Between 1888 and 1891 Bing published the journal Le Japon artistique, in French, English and German editions, and he was one of the first importers of Japanese ukiyo-e woodcut prints, which many designers began to utilize in their collections.

De Feure produced numerous cover drawings for Les Modes over a period of several years. One of the leading French fashion magazines of the early 20th century, Les Modes (subtitled Revue mensuelle illustrée des Arts décoratifs appliqués à la Femme) was published monthly between 1901 and 1937. Each issue was devoted to ‘decorative art as applied to women’ and included both colour and black and white photographs of society figures and actresses modelling the latest Parisian fashions. In addition to Les Modes and its sister publication Le Théatre, Georges de Feure contributed cover drawings for several other French journals, including Cocorico and Le Figare illustré, which devoted a special issue to the artist in February 1900.

This lot is accompanied by a certificate of expertise from Ian Millman dated 22 October 1995.