George Barbier: Master of Art Deco

by Hiroshi Unno

George Barbier (1882–1932) is one of the great French illustrators of the early twentieth century. He is famous for his elegant art deco works that were heavily influenced by orientalism and Parisian couture. Born in Nantes, France in 1882, he skyrocketed to fame and notoriety after his first exhibition in 1911. Known as one of “the knights of the bracelet” for his luxurious and glamorous lifestyle and work, George Barbier also received renown for costumes and set designs he did for theater, film, and ballet. Even today, his modern and stylish illustrations are popular all over the world. (mostly Japanese texts, some English as supplementary) With critical essays on such topics as coloration and composition, this volume is a complete compendium of Barbier’s work. This valuable reference book is categorized by Barbier’s major projects in fashion, book illustration, theater art, and editorial design and is perfect for illustrators and graphic designers as well as a beautiful gift for someone very special.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Fashion, Design

296 pages, Tankobon Softcover

First published March 13, 2012

About the author

Hiroshi Unno was born in 1939 in Tokyo. Unno writes on art, cinema, music, urbanism, novels, flower arranging and more. Unno recent titles released by PIE International – Avant-Garde Graphics in Russia, William Morris, Harry Clarke, Beautiful Book Design, The World of Mucha, A Thousand and One Nights – have gained recognition worldwide.

Reviews

[Winter Sophia Rose]

Informative, Gorgeous, Illustrations Of Rare, Unique & Rare Find Designs! A Gorgeous Read! I Loved It!

[Yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully decorated book; the pity is that there isn't any new information on George Barbier's life. Nevertheless the pictures themselves are worth 5 stars on their own. The book I read came all the way from the Royal Ontario Museum Library and I do hope others will have an easy access to a copy.

[Jbondandrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artwork of George Barbier is truly remarkable. It is pity that more is not known about him. Hiroshi Unno did a wonderful jog editing this book, I wish I knew Japanese and better French so I could have appreciated this book more.

[Jean Gear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book, the illustrations and easily accessible information is a joy to read.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the shape and the feel of the book. It's small, but not too compact. The pages feel nice as you turn them. There are hundreds of great color reproductions of Barbier's work. You're not going to find any black and white images in this book. Written in Japanese, there are translations of the essays, however there aren't English translations of the captions. But a full index can be found in the back with more information.

Getting this book for images alone is well worth it!

[Anurak Chanposri · Rating 5 out of 5]

สุดยอดจินตนาการภาพเขียนแห่งยุค art deco ญี่ปุ่นรวบรวมและผลิตออกมาได้ดี ไม่ผิดหวัง

[pizza aggressive · Rating 5 out of 5]

A E S T H E T I C
R
T

It's French art with Japanese influence. It's basically the best thing since sliced coke