Paul Iribe (18 June 1883, Angoulême, Charente – 21 September 1935) was a French designer, journalist, artist, and fashion illustrator.
Contents |
Paul Iribarnegaray was born in Angoulême, France in 1883, of Basque parentage.
Iribe received his education in Paris. From 1908 to 1910 he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and the College Rollin. In his early twenties he became an apprentice printer at Le Temps newspaper, and from 1900, he submitted dozens of illustrations and caricatures to such French satirical papers as Rire, Sourire, and L'Assiette au beurre.
Iribe's design career was a prolific one, contributing text and visuals to Vogue magazine, designing fabrics, furniture, rugs and doing interior design work for wealthy clients.[1] Iribe’s work is primarily distinguished by the illustrations he executed for style journals such as La Gazette du Bon Ton where his charming vignettes of the latest modes helped promote the designs of couturiers such as Paul Poiret. The appeal of these illustrations lay in their depiction of stylish women pursuing the everyday activities of an affluent life style.
Iribe was one of a talented group of like illustrators including George Barbier, George Lepape, George Martin, and Pierre Brissaud. Their modernist style, informed by both the vitality of the revolutionary art movements of the era, and by the flat planes and minimalism identified with Japanese painting served to revitalize the popularity of the “fashion plate.” These “fashion plates” were hand colored using the pochoir process, whereby stencils and metal plates are used allowing for colors to be built up and gradually nuanced according to the artist’s vision. The “fashion plate,” in use for some time, was in essence an advertising tool—a piece of artwork used to create desire for the newest clothing looks aimed at an audience of the fashionable and moneyed. Capitalizing on his prodigious multi-talents, Iribe later used Poiret’s fashions to illustrate a book of erotic drawings, which gained wide popularity.[2]
In 1915, Iribe went to Hollywood to work in the film industry, significantly for Cecil B. DeMille. Iribe served as art director for DeMille’s 1923 production, The Ten Commandments. In Hollywood, Iribe’s design talents were demonstrated in various capacities. His film credits reveal that at one time or another, he worked as costume designer, art director, and production designer on various projects.[3]
The first incarnation of Iribe’s journal, Le Témoin, (“The Witness”) was published from 1906-1910. It was a compendium of social and political satire with artwork by Iribe and contributions by other well-known illustrators of the day. Broadcasting a demonstrable French nationalism, the major illustrations in Le Témoin were always executed in three colors, the blue, white and red of the French flag. The back cover was invariably an advertisement for French commerce—boosterism for French made goods and industry.[4] The second appearance of Le Temoin debuted on December 10, 1933, and sixty-nine issues were printed until its demise on June 30, 1935. Unlike its earlier version, this second run of Le Témoin contained art solely by Iribe himself. It was re-figured into a strident platform for aggressive patriotism, an ultra-nationalist voice fueling an irrational fear of foreigners and preaching anti-Semitism.[5] Hal Vaughn’s book, "Sleeping With The Enemy, Coco Chanel’s Secret War," shows a re-production of one of Iribe’s illustrations for Le Témoin. In it Coco Chanel, her figure standing in for the iconic symbol of French liberty, Marianne, lies nude, stretched out in a faint, surrounded by dark, funereal figures. These menacing “outsiders,” are portrayed as an aggregate of the stereotypical “hook-nosed Jew,” with France at their mercy.[6]
Iribe was part of a Parisian, bohemian clique, a cosmopolitan mix of personalities from the world of the arts and elite society. Notable members were Misia Sert, her husband, Spanish painter, José-Maria Sert, Jean Cocteau and his lover, French actor, Jean Marais, Serge Lifar, a member of the Diaghilev ballet, and couturier, Coco Chanel. It was a libertine group rife with emotional, and sexual intrigues—all fueled by drug use and abuse.[7] Iribe’s involvement with Coco Chanel was particularly intense. Chanel found Iribe’s provocative wit and professional drive matched her own. Theirs was a romantic liaison, and a bond of like souls who shared the same right-wing politics. Chanel financed the publication of Iribe’s journal, Le Témoin in the 1930s.[8]
Iribe was with Coco Chanel, at her villa, La Pausa, on the French Riviera in September 1935, when he suddenly collapsed and died while playing tennis. Chanel witnessed his death, and felt his loss deeply, grieving over him for a protracted period of time.[9]