Art Deco

1930s Carlos Saenz de Tejada, fashion illustration for Blanco y Negro magazine, Paris. 

The ABC Collection guards 906 original drawings by Sáenz de Tejada, among which 775 are fashion illustrations. A selection of 127 drawings can be shown in this exhibition, all from the period of Tejada in Paris (1931 – 1936). As a front row witness of all the couture shows in Paris (Worth, Patou, Callot Sœurs, Heim, Hermès, Paquin o Rochas), Sáenz de Tejada took fast —but very detailed— notes that would become an illustrated chronicle for his ABC’s and Blanco y Negro’s publications. In most cases, accompanied by an article signed by Thérèse Clemenceau, French Prime Minister’s daughter.

Museo ABC, Madrid, Spain. 

Carlos Saenz de Tejada for Jeanne Paquin and Alex Maggy. Blanco y Negro magazine. 1930s. 

Jeanne Paquin (1869-1936) was a leading French fashion designer, known for her resolutely modern and innovative designs. She was the first major female couturier and one of the pioneers of the modern fashion business. 

Art deco fashion illustration by Spanish illustrator, Carlos Saenz de Tejada, for Jeanne Lanvin, Blanco y Negro magazin, Paris, 1930s.

Museo ABC, Madrid, Spain

Art deco illustration by Carlos Saenz de Tejada for Balenciaga, detail, 1930s.

This great painter and illustrator (Tangier, 1897-Madrid, 1958), the son of a diplomat, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He begins his career as a theatrical figurine maker. In 1925 a fire in his studio destroyed a good part of his work. A year later he moved to Paris. During the Civil War he returned to Spain. The Francoist iconography appropriated his works: his works were manipulated to adapt them to the propaganda of the regime, which stigmatized him for life. (x)

Art deco fashion illustration by, Carlos Saenz de Tejada, for Cristóbal Balenciaga. 1930s.

This great painter and illustrator (Tangier, 1897-Madrid, 1958), the son of a diplomat, studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He begins his career as a theatrical figurine maker. In 1925 a fire in his studio destroyed a good part of his work. A year later he moved to Paris. During the Civil War he returned to Spain. The Francoist iconography appropriated his works: his works were manipulated to adapt them to the propaganda of the regime, which stigmatized him for life. (x)