"It Is Essential To Capture The Image, Not A Detail, Not A Garment Or An Expression, But An

Impression."Tony Viramontes, 1959-1988

Tony Viramontes

Early life

Tony Viramontes or Viramontez , was born in 1960 in Los Angeles, USA, of Spanish and

Mexican parents.He studied fine art and photography in New York, before switching to fashion and beauty

illustration.

career

Viramontes made his debut in the late 1970's.

Viramontes also worked with some of the most renowned names in fashion including Yves St. Laurent, Valentino, Versace, Chanel, Perry Ellis, Claude

Montana and Rochas cosmetics.

Some of his illustrations

His work style

His striking images are of strong, dominant, aggressive yet feminine women,

sensuous men, smoldering and smokey-eyed, who vibrate with New Wave energy.

He explored and mastered several techniques and styles, from drawing -

direct and hard, supple and coloured - to video and painting with felt tip market

pens over photographs.

InspirationViramontes' elegant art is fused with

humour and fantasy, he found his inspiration everywhere, in the street, in

music and dance.He had been experimenting with photo-illustration, drawing over photographs and

he planned to direct films.

Works

conclusion

In 1984, an exhibition of his work was held in Paris.

Tony Viramontes had great artistic potential, but he died in 1988 at the age

of only 28.

George Barbier

About George Barbier

• George Barbier (1882 – 1932) was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century.

• Born in Nantes, France on October 10, 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre .

Career & colleagues

• Included in this elite circle were Bernard Boutet de Monvel and Pierre Brissaud (both of whom were Barbier’s first cousins), Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape, and Charles Martin.

• During his career Barbier also turned his hand to jewellery, glass and wallpaper .

• In the mid 1920s he worked with Erte to design sets and costumes for the Folies Bergere and in 1929 he wrote the introduction for Erte’s acclaimed exhibition and achieved mainstream popularity through his regular appearances in L’Illustration magazine.

As an illustrator

• A versatile artist, he produces all kinds of different work over the years: book illustrations, costume designs for the cinema and theatre, fans, jewellery, glass, fabrics, wallpaper and above all, fashion illustrations, the most successful and refined expression of his creation.

• From 1917 on he starts working on personal publishing projects, illustrating articles for the most important writers and journalists, and signing them himself .

Works

His countless designs for theatre costumes:• costumes for les Folies Bergère in 1923, • the stage design and costumes for Casanova • La dernière nuit de Don Juan by Maurice

Rostand, and • the woodcuts Vingt-cinq costumes pour le

théâtre (1927).

Works

• His early work with the press is with comic journals such as le Rire or la Baionette His meeting with Lucien Vogel leads to many more partnerships for women’s magazines in particular; he not only does illustrations for Gazette du Bon Ton, but also for Le Jardin des dames et des modes,

Conclusion

• Barbier died in 1932 at the very pinnacle of his success.

• After the First World War, he works for Gazette du Bon Ton and Vie Parisienne as both editor and journalist, writing articles, society news and stories that he signs either with his real name or various pen-names