RENÉ GRUAU (RENATO DE ZAVAGLI, 1909-2004) BLIZZAND / TERGAL BOUSSAC. 1965. 62x45 1/4 inches, 157 1/2x115 cm. Cinemato, Paris. Condition B+: repaired tears and restoration at edges; creases and abrasions in margins and image; light staining in image. Gruau's sparse compositions of languid, sophisticated models, delineated with bold lines and bright colors, ushered in a "new look" in the late 1940s. His images are imbued with suggestion, even seduction, but his figures are always graceful, elegant and beautiful. The world of haute couture embraced him; "with lines as lean as his elongated models, a gash of bright lips or a wash of color, René Gruau summed up an era. The elegant and aristocratic graphic artist . . . captured with his pen and brush the spirit of haute couture and the glory days of Parisian high fashion" (New York Times, April 13, 2004).
