Les Deux Soeurs (The Two Sisters)

This hand-colored lithograph presents two evening fashions by designer Beer in the refined style of 1920s fashion illustration. The left figure wears a dramatic green cape over black evening wear, her face painted with stark makeup; the right displays a sleek black gown with gold embroidery. Rather than satire, this represents the commercial art tradition descending from 19th-century fashion plates—where illustration served as advertisement and social aspiration. The exaggerated facial features and fashionable poses reflect period conventions of beauty and style marketing. This genre, distinct from political caricature, evolved into modern fashion journalism and advertising illustration, demonstrating how printmaking techniques—here lithography's capacity for color and detail—shaped visual culture and consumer desire in the early twentieth century.