The Chefs-d'oœvre
The Chefs-d'oeuvre is a late nineteenth-century art portfolio of photogravure-style plates reproducing works shown at the 1900 Paris Exposition, published in Philadelphia by G. Barrie and compiled by critics Walton, Champier and Saglio. The three plates show a seated gentleman conversing with a woman on a balustraded terrace, a shadowed interior where veiled women gather in a domestic room, and a half-length portrait of a smiling woman in a dark gown holding a feather fan. Their tonal, soft-focus engraving suggests restrained grey-scale figure compositions and architectural staging for a designer exploring period fashion or interiors.
