Pavomania

Colour me Mr Popular as I’m interviewed once again, the venue on this occasion being Coilhouse which is a fine place to be featured. My thanks to S. Elizabeth for the indulgence. In the course of our discussion I mentioned The Peacock Obsession, and by coincidence these pages have been receiving links recently from Peacock’s Garden, a site devoted to that ubiquitous fowl. These two pieces can be found there with the Vogue cover being a new one to me. The artist is the great J. Allen St John, better known for his Edgar Rice Burroughs illustrations and distinctive title designs; Golden Age Comic Book Stories has many examples of his work.

This splendid Art Nouveau poster is by Gisbert Combaz (1869–1941) and those who’ve seen my Dodgem Logic cover may recognise the peacock whose outline I rather shamelessly swiped. Combaz’s poster turns up regularly in Art Nouveau histories but his other work is less visible which is a shame, he has a very bold graphic style and I’d love to see more. Lastly, I’ve linked to this before but it’s worth mentioning again, Seasons of the Peacock at Animalarium which also has Combaz’s poster.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The Art Nouveau dance goes on forever
• Dodgem Logic #4