La premiere imprudence ; Robe du soir, de Beer Art Print – Barbier – 1921

La premiere imprudence ; Robe du soir, de Beer vintage poster – George Barbier – 1921
Gazette du Bon Genre. Année 1920. No. 2. Planche 15

This is a superb reproduction of an illustration created by George Barbier, considered one of the great French illustrators of the twentieth century. This vintage art print has the title ‘La premiere imprudence’ which translates into English as ‘The first indiscretion’ or ‘The First Recklessness’. Barbier’s image portrays a young man in a tuxedo secretly passing an illicit note to a young woman wearing a green Gustav Beer evening dress. The picture offers a hint of scandal. The woman receiving the note is wearing a wedding ring on her left hand, suggesting the scene captures the moments at the start of an illicit affair.

The image originally featured in the celebrated fashion magazine Gazette du bon ton. At the time it was one of the most attractive and influential 20th century fashion magazines. Gazette du bon ton employed many of the most famous artists and illustrators from the growing art deco period. Artists including Georges Barbier, Georges Lepape, Erté (Romain de Tirtoff), Etienne Drian,  Paul Iribe, Pierre Brissaud, André Edouard Marty, Thayaht (Ernesto Michahelles), Edouard Garcia Benito, Soeurs David (David Sisters), Pierre Mourgue, Robert Bonfils, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Maurice Leroy, and Zyg Brunner were contributers tothe short-lived but highly influencial fashion bible.

The magazine was established by Lucien Vogel. It was first published in 1912 and ran until 1915. Following the war the magazine was started up again in 1920 and ran until 1925. It consisted of 69 issues printed in only 2,000 copies each and notably illustrated with 573 color plates and 148 sketches of the models of the great designers.

The green evening dress in the illustration was created by German fashion designer Gustave Beer. Having established himself in Vienna, Beer moved to Paris and in 1905 opened his own couture house on the Place Vendôme. In the opulent era of the late 1800s, Beer’s fashion house was able to offer elegant, custom made dresses and expensive lingerie.

An article on Googles arts and culture website explains that Gustav Beer went on to establish branches at Nice and Monte Carlo. Under his concept of “conservative elegance for conservative clients,” he introduced elegant dresses that were luxuriously manufactured down to the finest details. His approach was highly appreciated, and his fashion house was one of the most popular in the 1910s and 1920s.

Our posters are carefully and professionally created from vintage originals. Whilst great care is taken in the production of these posters, we also try to maintain a vintage feel, so there may be small imperfections, fold marks, scuffs, tears or marks that were part of the original poster master. If these do appear they should be visible on the larger views of the item on this listing. The originals of many of the posters we offer can cost many thousands of pounds, so whilst these posters look great, especially framed and mounted on a wall, they are intended as a fun, affordable reproductions and not intended fine art prints.

The 50x70cm version has been specially produced to be used in conjunction with Ikea’s 50x70cm Ribba picture frame which currently retails for around £12. So you can bag a bargain of print and poster for just £22.