George Barbier, La Gourmandise (The Greedy). 1924
Hand-coloured, plate-signed pochoir from Falbalas & Fanfreluches: "The Gourmand/Gluttony" (The Greedy), part of the set "The Seven Deadly Sins " from the Almanac of 1925. One can nearly breathe in the heightened elegance not just through the elevated ceilings but in the exquisite dresses of the women waiting to be pampered beyond expectation with the best of French Cuisine. As is Barbier's inimitable style, the men are mere props to the confident curves of the New Woman, and from their take-charge poses we connect with the very tenor of their emerging social dominance and confidence. This famous series of illustrated almanacs was produced from 1922 to 1926 only and depicted high-society life in the fashion, social and artistic capital of the early inter-war years in Paris. Each issue contained a small diary and notation section, an introduction by one of the leading social/cultural doyens of the day, a decorative cover and twelve fashion plates (one for each month of the year). (x)
