Artwork
'Feux croisés'
'Feux croisés' is a drawing by Carven. It dates from 1949 and is held in the collection of the Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1949, *Feux croisés* is a drawing by the French fashion house Carven. The work is part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography, where it is displayed as an example of mid‑century fashion illustration.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a woman leaning against a modest wooden fence. She wears a loosely draped coat and a matching skirt featuring a checkered pattern; the coat’s fabric billows behind her, suggesting movement. The title, meaning “crossed lights,” may refer to the interplay of light and shadow across the folds of the garment.
Technique & Style
Carven employs swift, confident lines that outline the figure and its attire, leaving portions of the surface rough while applying soft shading in others. This contrast between gestural strokes and subtle tonal areas gives the sketch a spontaneous, study‑like quality rather than a fully finished rendering.
History & Provenance
The drawing was produced in the immediate post‑war period, a time when Carven was expanding its reputation for elegant ready‑to‑wear designs. It entered the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings sometime after its creation, though the exact acquisition details remain undocumented.
Artist & collection
Artist
These delicate ink-on-paper drawings capture the quiet poetry of everyday things: pinecones, reeds, apples.
Museum
Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris
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