Drian
(1885 - 1961)
French illustrator Drian was born Adrian Desire Etienne into a poor family in Lorraine, France in 1885. He attended the Academie Julian where he took the pseudonym Drian, his own first name. An icon of the Art Noveau movement, his unique style went against the grain of the trendy Art Deco Era and beyond the restraint of its strict forms.
He was one of the names associated with the Gazette du Bon Ton, Femina, Nos Elegances, and Harper’s Bazaar. One of the classic figures of fashion illustration during 1910 and the mid 1920s; Drian's art is easily recognized by his fluidity in movement. A skill that would gain him notoriety in his chosen field. One of his most famous illustrations was published in the Femina in 1911, (of a man holding and kissing a woman's hand), glorifying the gesture and making it popular in France.
In 1908, Drian illustrated auction catalogs for Printemps in Paris. In 1912, he worked with Paul Poiret as a fashion designer. In 1913, he published many illustrations for Femina. In 1941 during the war, he took refuge in the house of Madame Bossis, a friend of Cecile Sore, and lived there for a year during which he painted many portraits some of which included his friend Cecile and his hostess Madame Bossis.
Drian was an accomplished theatre designer, painter, and illustrator but essentially was driven with an inspiration and principle love for Parisian woman, his favorite subject matter and the source of his world-wide recognition. A perfect example is an illustration of his friend Cecile Sorel in elegant poses. He later designed the decor and costumes for the theatrical Le Casino de Paris in 1931.
Drian died in 1961, in Pontoise (Val-d'Oise), France at the age of seventy-six.
