Christian Bérard (1902-1949)
descended from a family of well-known architects. He studied art at the Academie Ranson and the Academie Jullian and belonged to the leaders of the new generation of French illustrators. Soon he became Cocteau’s assistant for ballet, film and theater and co-founder of the “Neo-Humanistic Group” ‚Christian Bérard was a highly colorful figure of the Parisian Café Society. He was first of all an excellent and very original painter and rejected numerous introductory invitations from Vogue before deciding to work also as a fashion illustrator. Yet then his romantic expressionist/surrealist style strongly influenced the trend of fashion illustration of that period. He remains first of all famous for his excellent portraits and his epoch-making sets and costume designs for theater and film —for example “La Belle et la Bête” by Cocteau. Like many artists of the time he had a passion for interior design and decorated many homes including those of Jean-Michel Frank and Syrie Maugham. Over the years, he has become a figure of cult, idolized by a new generation of young aesthetes and decorators.
descended from a family of well-known architects. He studied art at the Academie Ranson and the Academie Jullian and belonged to the leaders of the new generation of French illustrators. Soon he became Cocteau’s assistant for ballet, film and theater and co-founder of the “Neo-Humanistic Group” ‚Christian Bérard was a highly colorful figure of the Parisian Café Society. He was first of all an excellent and very original painter and rejected numerous introductory invitations from Vogue before deciding to work also as a fashion illustrator. Yet then his romantic expressionist/surrealist style strongly influenced the trend of fashion illustration of that period. He remains first of all famous for his excellent portraits and his epoch-making sets and costume designs for theater and film —for example “La Belle et la Bête” by Cocteau. Like many artists of the time he had a passion for interior design and decorated many homes including those of Jean-Michel Frank and Syrie Maugham. Over the years, he has become a figure of cult, idolized by a new generation of young aesthetes and decorators.
