Rene Gruau - Fashion Illustrator
Rene Gruau is an illustrator of extraordinary skill, style and flair. A good friend introduced me to his work at an exhibition a while ago at Somerset House called Dior Illustrated: Rene Gruau and the Line of Beauty. Now I'd like to pass that gift on.
Rene Gruau Diorissimo image from 1956
His father was an Italian count, but Gruau pursued his passion for art rather than follow in his father’s royal & military footsteps. His mother and father separated when he was only 3 years old and from that time on he took his French mother’s name and lived with her in Paris.
He began to sell his illustrations to magazines at the age of 14 - a prodigious talent - although during WW2 he struggled to find work. This was when he started to make connections with little-known designers such as Christian Dior, who he would go on to collaborate with many times during his life.
Gruau helped to create the “New Look” of fashion with Dior after the war – the full-skirted, nipped in waist look which defines elegance, femininity and was an antidote to the harsh austerity of wartime. This then influenced fashion for the next 20 years (and beyond) and helped put Paris firmly back at the top of the fashion world after the war. For his work with Dior and other brands he is sometimes referred to as the father of modern advertising too, which means, in a way, Gruau invented Mad Men!
Vincent Leret, curator of the Christian Dior museum in Granville, France says they had the same aesthetic sensibility: 'They both shared the same fascination for elegant mothers, kitted out with parasols, purses and wide-brimmed hats.' I must admit, that sounds pretty good to me too.
In Gruau’s work we can see influences from Japanese artists such as Utamaro Kitagawa, Japonisme and a person who was part of that movement – Toulouse Lautrec.
Gruau even did the illustrations for the Moulin Rouge cabarets, following in Lautrec’s footprints. When I look at their work I see similarities in the way they capture movement & abandon, along with an unusual use of lighting.
Lautrec's cabaret poster
Gruau's cabaret images
Gruau's use of lighting echoes Lautrec
Japan re-opened trading with the West in the mid 1850s and took part in a World Fair in Paris in 1867. This introduced Japanese art - Kabuki theatre prints, ukiyo-e prints and more – to the artists working in Europe at the time, and influenced a great deal of early 20th century art including Lautrec, Gauguin, Bonnard, Degas and later, Rene Gruau. From this Japonisme was born. Japanese art used asymmetrical compositions, flat colour & simple designs – all things we can see in Gruau’s work.
Two images from Utamaro Kitagawa showing unusual composition, focussing on women and beautiful use of line.
The things I love about Gruau are his use of negative space, the minimal approach he takes to his illustration and of course his elegant line. What really makes it pop is his wit and love of life. He creates a world of elegance and refinement with a simple composition such as some gloves on a chair, he captures the vitality of youth with a young woman kicking up her heel, he conveys the bawdy life of the cabaret in a few small strokes. His work is sensual, languid and full of glamour. In the words of Liz Lemon, I want to go to there.
Gruau really is a master of illustration, fashion or otherwise, and the beauty of his work will continue to inspire for generations. Each piece is somehow iconic and instantly evocative of another time. I love it! Now, I’ll leave you with some images and a quote from the man himself:
“Elegance is fluid. It consists of desire and knowledge, grace, refinement, perfection, and distinction.”
René Gruau
Rene Gruau Diorissimo image from 1956
His father was an Italian count, but Gruau pursued his passion for art rather than follow in his father’s royal & military footsteps. His mother and father separated when he was only 3 years old and from that time on he took his French mother’s name and lived with her in Paris.
He began to sell his illustrations to magazines at the age of 14 - a prodigious talent - although during WW2 he struggled to find work. This was when he started to make connections with little-known designers such as Christian Dior, who he would go on to collaborate with many times during his life.
Gruau helped to create the “New Look” of fashion with Dior after the war – the full-skirted, nipped in waist look which defines elegance, femininity and was an antidote to the harsh austerity of wartime. This then influenced fashion for the next 20 years (and beyond) and helped put Paris firmly back at the top of the fashion world after the war. For his work with Dior and other brands he is sometimes referred to as the father of modern advertising too, which means, in a way, Gruau invented Mad Men!
Vincent Leret, curator of the Christian Dior museum in Granville, France says they had the same aesthetic sensibility: 'They both shared the same fascination for elegant mothers, kitted out with parasols, purses and wide-brimmed hats.' I must admit, that sounds pretty good to me too.
In Gruau’s work we can see influences from Japanese artists such as Utamaro Kitagawa, Japonisme and a person who was part of that movement – Toulouse Lautrec.
Gruau even did the illustrations for the Moulin Rouge cabarets, following in Lautrec’s footprints. When I look at their work I see similarities in the way they capture movement & abandon, along with an unusual use of lighting.
Lautrec's cabaret poster
Gruau's cabaret images
Gruau's use of lighting echoes Lautrec
Japan re-opened trading with the West in the mid 1850s and took part in a World Fair in Paris in 1867. This introduced Japanese art - Kabuki theatre prints, ukiyo-e prints and more – to the artists working in Europe at the time, and influenced a great deal of early 20th century art including Lautrec, Gauguin, Bonnard, Degas and later, Rene Gruau. From this Japonisme was born. Japanese art used asymmetrical compositions, flat colour & simple designs – all things we can see in Gruau’s work.
Two images from Utamaro Kitagawa showing unusual composition, focussing on women and beautiful use of line.
The things I love about Gruau are his use of negative space, the minimal approach he takes to his illustration and of course his elegant line. What really makes it pop is his wit and love of life. He creates a world of elegance and refinement with a simple composition such as some gloves on a chair, he captures the vitality of youth with a young woman kicking up her heel, he conveys the bawdy life of the cabaret in a few small strokes. His work is sensual, languid and full of glamour. In the words of Liz Lemon, I want to go to there.
Gruau really is a master of illustration, fashion or otherwise, and the beauty of his work will continue to inspire for generations. Each piece is somehow iconic and instantly evocative of another time. I love it! Now, I’ll leave you with some images and a quote from the man himself:
“Elegance is fluid. It consists of desire and knowledge, grace, refinement, perfection, and distinction.”
René Gruau