Large Toile Skirt by Gerda Wegener

This delicate fashion print bears witness to the aesthetic refinement and the rise of Parisian illustrated magazines at the beginning of the century. The talented illustrator Gerda Wegener harmoniously incorporates the evocation of her creation named “Large Toile Skirt” in this vertical composition full of poetry and wit. This representation exalts Parisian elegance and the sophistication of women’s finery of the era, fitting into a stylized current close to late Art Nouveau.

A charming young woman with an elaborate bun hairstyle stands elegantly behind a black wrought-iron balustrade with complex scrollwork patterns. She wears a long checkered light blue and dark blue skirt and a very pretty purple bodice under a translucent grey bolero. A long, highly fluid yellow veil wraps gracefully around her arms and falls in light waves down to her feet shod in delicate purple pumps with straps. In the upper right of the image, a tiny black spider hangs from an invisible thread, adding a touch of ironic and surprising fantasy to this complete scene bathed in soft and uniform light.

The artist deploys incredible precision of line to draw the complex arabesques of the railing and the fineness of the feminine garments. Her technical mastery of watercolor coloring makes it possible to create effects of transparency and lightness of great visual delicacy for the viewers.