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“Les Douze Mois de l’Année: Nivôse” by Marthe Romme (French) - Pochoir on paper / 1919 - Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) #WomenInArt #MartheRomme #Romme #Rijksmuseum #ArtDeco #FashionPlate #Pochoir #WinterArt #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #art #artText #BlueskyArt #WomenPaintingWomen
At upper left, a handwritten French couplet floats among snowflakes; at bottom, the title reads “nivôse.” “de la neige les flocons de la saison sont les papillons” The literal English translation is “Of snow, the flakes; of the season, the butterflies” which naturally means “Snowflakes are the season’s butterflies.” Created as part of Les Douze Mois de l’Année (The Twelve Months of the Year), the title “Nivôse” borrows from the French Republican calendar, where it is “snowy” month that falls roughly from late December into mid-January. A stylized woman (an idealized fashion figure) strides through thick, falling snow against a flat gray background. Her face is simplified in warm peach tones and mostly tucked into an oversized, cloud-like wrap of white fur that loops around her neck and sweeps across the lower foreground like a muff or stole. A small cap patterned with red rosettes sits on her head, tied with long blue ribbons that trail behind her. She wears a dramatic, wind-caught cape in a cream-and-blue lattice, each square centered with a red flower motif. Bright red stockings and sharp red heels punctuate the winter palette. The print is made by pochoir (color applied through hand-cut stencils) so edges appear crisp and the colors sit in velvety, opaque layers, with a hand-finished precision that was prized in luxury fashion illustration. In 1919, just after World War I, Paris fashion imagery often balanced optimism with restraint, and French artist Marthe Romme’s figure seems to embody that tension with warmth wrapped tightly around the body, style kept graphic and controlled, and color rationed to a few emphatic notes. Publishing houses such as Sauvage issued portfolios like “Les Douze Mois de l’Année” as collectible sets, turning the passage of time into a gallery of silhouettes. Romme’s winter becomes a visual statement that’s quiet, pared back, and still luminous … where snow floats like ornaments and braving the cold weather looks chic.
December 25, 2025 at 1:21 PM