Have you wondered what the pictures would look like if the ‘bible’ of high fashion, Vogue magazine, asked famous painters to design its front cover? Wonder no more: over the years the editors of Vogue have done just that., and my favourite online art magazine, Dailyart, has just published an article showing the striking results.
That’s an instantly recognisable Salvador Dali cover above from June 1939. Dailyart comments: “The iconic surrealist painter, contributed paintings and illustrations to the magazine from the 1930s to the 1970s. he was busy, not only with classical art but also with fashion. he was friends with Coco Chanel and worked with a fashion designer named Elsa Schiaparelli as well as Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, and developed his own designs and jewellery.”
Or, how about this Joan Miró, the cover from December/January 1979? A bit garish and brutal for my tastes, but then Miró did talk about the ‘assassination of painting.’ I’m surprised that he collaborated with so bourgeois a magazine as Vogue.
His art was certainly a far cry from that of Cecil Beaton, who featured on the front of the April 1949 edition. Cecil was responsible for much of the late Queen Mother’s wardrobe, which one critic called wittily but unkindly ‘royal loose covers.’
There are 14 Vogue front covers to choose from in the DailyArt article, which is well worth a read. You can do so by clicking here.
Leave a Reply