Georges LEPAPE (1887-1971)

The Serenade
Diptych, both panels signed, one dated 1929.
Oil on canvas, 195 x 55 cm.

On the left panel, a tall fellow on a harbor quay with the sea in the background serenades with his guitar by moonlight… on the right panel, the beauty throws him a rose from her balcony.
The setting is typically Mediterranean, borrowing elements from Spain, with the guitar and the singer’s attire; from Venice, with the character in an 18th-century tricorn carnival costume dancing with his partner, discreetly appearing in the background of the left panel; and from Marseille, with the characteristic silhouette of the Château d’If fortress, located on an island in Marseille’s harbor, the setting of Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo, in the background of the left panel just above sea level.
This is therefore an artist’s romantic and theatrical vision, not a real scene.
The harmony of soft, matte hues is particularly successful.

Fashion designer, poster artist, illustrator, and painter, Georges Lepape was close to couturier Paul Poiret, whom he met in 1910 at the Salon d’Automne.
In 1911, he illustrated Les choses de Paul Poiret vues par Georges Lepape, considered his masterpiece.

He collaborated with major fashion magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Femina, Vogue…
Lepape pursued his work with audacity and elegance in the most varied fields: theater sets and costumes, advertising, publishing, textiles, posters…

Painting on canvas is particularly rare in his oeuvre. It was probably a commission for a specific decor.