I have been doing research on a scarf I want to design and it will be a deco reference or early 20th Century setting, an homage to Golden Age of illustrators though it's quite ambitious and it will be laborious. As I often do I started rummaging through Pinterest and I found this wonderful painting by Joseph Leyendecker which I want to use as a core reference and it's so emotive that the first think I thought was "where as all that glamour gone?" . I really don't like the way celebrities and the ultra rich get around these days though to be fair, if I had that much money maybe I would want to look the same, I will most likely never find out. But we are certainly along way from the period depicted here. If you don't know who Leyendecker is, read the blurb below I generated with my chat.
Joseph Christian (J.C.) Leyendecker (1874–1951) was one of the most important American illustrators of the early twentieth century and a leading figure of the Golden Age of Illustration. Born in Germany and raised in Chicago, he studied art in both the United States and Paris before establishing a highly successful career in New York.
Leyendecker became famous for his work for The Saturday Evening Post, creating 322 covers between 1899 and 1943. His illustrations helped shape the visual identity of modern America, depicting holidays, family life, sport, fashion and patriotism with elegance and optimism.
He is perhaps best remembered for creating the Arrow Collar Man, an advertising character for Arrow shirts who became one of the first great marketing icons. The sophisticated, confident figure influenced men’s fashion and popular culture for decades.
Artistically, Leyendecker was renowned for his strong compositions, dramatic lighting and distinctive brushwork. He used bold highlights and rhythmic strokes to give his figures a sculptural, almost monumental quality. His illustrations combined the refinement of fine art with the accessibility of commercial design.
His influence extended far beyond advertising and publishing. Celebrated illustrator Norman Rockwell openly admired his work and drew inspiration from his storytelling techniques. Today, Leyendecker is regarded as a pioneer whose images helped define the look, aspirations and confidence of early twentieth-century America.
