Writing the Dandy through Art Criticism: Elegance and Civilization in Monsieur, 1920–1924

Abstract

The French monthly Monsieur had a rather short lifespan (1920–1924), but it nevertheless managed to outline a “retour à l’ordre” for the dandy in part through its art critical writing. Monsieur’s critical writing provided a unique space for an empathetic entry (or Einfühlung) into the works of art, which in turn aided the perpetuation of a postwar dandyist masculinity.

Keywords:

• dandy
• masculinity
• art criticism
• modern art

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Monsieur also received financial support from couturier Paul Poiret (1879–1944).

2. While by no means an exhaustive list, see for example: Geczy and Karaminas 2012; Hollander 1978; Mackrell 2005; Martin 1987; Martin 1999; Martin and Koda 1989; Ribeiro 2000; Ribeiro 1995; Steele 1998; Troy 2003.

3. Stated otherwise, one would expect art criticism to be directed by and toward loftier cultural questions and aesthetic concerns far removed from the seemingly banal musings of ephemeral fashion. After all, men’s fashion was said never to change, the result of the supposed great male renunciation of the whims and fancies of the fashion system that took place in the nineteenth century when industrial masculinity opted to clothe itself in the regularity, sobriety and stoicism of black, grey and white (see Flügel 1930).

4. In the case of painting see, for example, Tickner (2000, 190); in the case of modern architecture see Wigley (2001).

5. Note: All translations from French into English are author’s own.

6. For more of a complete discussion of physique culture, masculinity, homosociability and visual culture see Budd (1997); Garb (1998); Potvin (2008, 18–30).

7. The reference is to politician Léon Bérard (1876–1960) who became minister of public education and fine arts in 1919 and again between 1921 and 1924 and was particularly keen on the reintroduction of classical education.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

John Potvin

John Potvin is Associate Professor in the Department of Art History at Concordia University, Montreal. He is the author of Material and Visual Cultures Beyond Male Bonding (2008), Giorgio Armani: Empire of the Senses (2013) and Bachelors of a Different Sort (2014). He is also editor of The Places and Spaces of Fashion (2009) and Oriental Interiors: Design, Identity, Space (2015) as well as co-editor of both Material Cultures, 1740–1920 (2009) and Fashion, Interior Design and the Contours of Modern Identity (2010). [email protected]