Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty

Various authors
2023
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This investigation into Karl Lagerfeld’s (1933–2019) artistry explores his extraordinary sixty-five-year career, from the designs for Chloé and Fendi in the 1960s and 1970s to his celebrated leadership in the 1980s and beyond at Chanel and his own label. Inspired by the “line of beauty” theorized by eighteenth-century English painter William Hogarth, this dazzling publication pursues the straight and serpentine “lines” and their intersections in Lagerfeld’s work as a means of understanding his unique creative process.

Met Art in Publication

Evening ensemble, House of Chanel  French, silk, metal, French
House of Chanel
fall/winter 1990–91
Dress, House of Chanel  French, silk, synthetic stones, metal, French
House of Chanel
spring/summer 1983, edition 2015
Evening ensemble, Chloé  French, synthetic fiber, French
Chloé
fall/winter 1994–95
Dress, Chloé  French, silk, glass, metal, French
Chloé
spring/summer 1983, edition 2013
Ensemble, Dior Homme  French, (a) wool, glass, (b) plastic (cellulose acetate), metal, (c, d) leather (lambskin), French
Dior Homme
spring/summer 2004
Gazette du bon ton: arts, modes et frivolities, Serial publication, illustrated
1912–15 and 1920–25
Prussian Military Costume: Hussar 1808-15, Walter von Looz-Corswarem  German, Pen and ink, brush and watercolor on thin wove paper
Walter von Looz-Corswarem
20th century
Hexagonal vase with Rococo-style flowers, Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue (Jingdezhen ware), China
18th century
Les Fleurs Animées, Taxile Delord  French, Wood engravings, hand-colored
Taxile Delord
1867
Ensemble, Mariska Karasz, silk, American
Mariska Karasz
ca. 1927
Plate 4 from Sonia Delaunay: ses peintures, ses objets, ses tissus simultanés, ses modes, Sonia Delaunay  French, born Ukraine, Pochoir and relief process
Sonia Delaunay
[1925]
Colored Rhythm, Sonia Delaunay  French, born Ukraine, Gouache, pastel, and graphite on paper
Sonia Delaunay
1959
Harlequin with a Guitar, Juan Gris  Spanish, Oil on panel
Juan Gris
1917

Citation

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Bolton, Andrew, Max Hollein, Tadao Andō, Amanda Harlech, Patrick Hourcade, Anna Wintour, Stefania Briey, et al., eds. 2023. Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.