Inspired By Beauty: A Journey Through Time is the culmination of my life work in dance, French period art and antiques, design, and an all-encompassing love of beauty. Unfolding as a journey, the book envelops the reader in tastes, scents, and stunning images staged as living theater. Woven throughout are anecdotes, sense impressions, and observations of the artists and their culture from 18th-century France to the contemporary era.

FROM PHOTO BOOK TO PURE TEXT – ART & INSPIRATION
Inspired By Beauty unfolds as a journey and begins as a photo book, a poetic house tour led by our muse and sometimes nymph, where evocative images take center stage and the captions – tinged with moments of whimsy – serve as the text. As the book progresses, there is an increasing amount of historical discourse; think house tour meets history lesson. This culminates in a final, text-only section titled “Art & Inspiration”. Here, the featured art serves as guideposts, leading us along a timeline that references and further explores the genres, styles, and eras introduced in the book. I am thrilled to begin this timeline with Jean-Antoine Watteau’s exquisite, aux trois crayons masterpiece, Seated Young Woman. This sensuous, c. 1716, Rococo drawing, with its delicate swirls of chalk paying homage to the female spirit, leads us to a discourse about the changes in art and culture that will ripple through the century. Enlightenment ideas are explored, as they were the zeitgeist that set this cultural shift in motion. The timeline carries us along to the contemporary era, where the book’s themes unite under the ever-present principle of beauty. After all, it was beauty itself that inspired this work.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BEAUTY
On the subject of aesthetics, we will meet 18th- and 19th-century poets and philosophers. John Keats and the Romantic poets will take our breath away! Their pure and lyrical expressions are the quintessence of beauty. Our journey closes on hope and encouragement as we reference William Wordsworth’s awe-inspiring treatise, “Preface to Lyrical Ballads.” This stunning thesis, which ushered in the Romantic movement, passionately validates the artist’s expression of beauty and power to elevate society. Like beacons of light, the poet’s words will lead us out of these pages to escort us back to our lives, where I hope they make a home in your heart and mind.

[Note:  “Art & Inspiration” will include several essays by historians and esteemed professionals. Details to be announced.]

Paper ballet slippers with mysterious writings and singed toes evoke dreams of 18th-century France and modern-day fairy tales. These delicate creations, adorned with tinges of gold leaf and tiny Swarovski crystals, are the work of contemporary Danish sculptress Marie-Louise Otte.

The riveting, fine-art photograph presented above in a gilded frame is the work of Brooklyn-based artists Scott Irvine and Kim Meinelt of WAXenVINE. Their art has an edgy, almost mystical quality and appears to capture a glimpse of eternity – taking the viewer through a hauntingly beautiful timescape.

Contemporary art by WAXenVINE and Marie-Louise Otte are featured throughout the book, where they are often found in the happy company of 18th- and 19th-century French sculptures, paintings, drawings, and prints.

At the close of the photo book, we come to our final, text-only section, titled “Art & Inspiration”. This is where our romp takes shape in the form of a timeline. To enter this timeline, we unfold the book’s pages from a picture of French doors opening outwards from both sides, like an accordion. And so begins the next, and final, stage of our journey.

“Art & Inspiration” is divided into seven sections:

–Watteau – The Poetics of Gesture
–Rococo – An Expression in Fine Art, Decorative Art, Style, and Thought
–The 18th-Century French Print – An Achievement of Enlightenment
–Seduction – A Recurring Theme
–Chinoiserie – A Passion for all things Exotic
–Threads of Time
–The Romantics and The Principle of Beauty

The opening lines read as follows:

WATTEAU – THE POETICS OF GESTURE
The curve of an arm, an arched neck, a downward glance – all telling stories of reaching…yearning and releasing…being. And between these states, we discover a perfect harmony – a poetics of gesture.

Hence, we enter the eighteenth century, riding a wave of art reflecting the nuances of beauty. Art created by one of France’s greatest talents – Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721). A draughtsman and painter from humble beginnings, Watteau will change the course of cultural history, and will later be referred to as “the poet of 18th-century France”. Always the consummate artist, he moves against the tide of hierarchical art, steeped in the tradition of history paintings and moral teachings, to create gorgeous dreamscapes. 

Swift, fluid chalk strokes delicately and gracefully sweep across the paper, like dancers preparing to take flight. Drawings magically capture the moment’s immediacy with an air of abandon while also displaying the elegance of restraint. And paintings evoke images so rich in tone and form that we cannot separate what is real from what is imagined. This magical world spun out of chalk and paint, dreams and reality, will escort us into the enchanting Rococo era.

More sample text found later in “Art & Inspiration”:

Although François Boucher was just a youth when Watteau passed away, he had an intimate connection with the artist through his work. A teenage Boucher, one of his generation’s finest draughtsman and engravers, was among a select group or artists hired to engrave a large body of Watteau’s oeuvre, posthumously. This immense and honorable undertaking (known as Recueil Jullienne) was sponsored by Watteau’s friend, the art collector and director of the Gobelins manufactory, Jean de Jullienne. Boucher’s delicate and light touch was perfect for reproducing Watteau’s poetic masterpieces. Capturing their very essence, Boucher seems to channel Watteau’s spirit. This ambitious project represents a passing of the baton from France’s first and greatest Rococo artist to the next generation’s most revered painter and draughtsman.

SEDUCTION – A RECURRING THEME
François Boucher enjoyed a long and successful career as a painter, draughtsman, and decorative artist, culminating in his becoming Painter to the King. In the hands of Boucher, the Rococo style would reach its peak. The sensuousness of Watteau’s art becomes the sensual in Boucher. Watteau’s soft yet rich tones, which evolved from the colorist tradition, suggest seduction – a theme delicately played out in his gorgeous depictions of pastoral gatherings called fête galantes. Whereas Boucher’s frothy, sorbet tones – which swirl through voluptuous scenes so inviting we wish to jump into the paintings – do more than suggest, they are the great seductress.

Early Rococo is more nuanced than the sumptuous art and style of late Rococo; however, both, startling in their beauty, seduce the viewer with their blending of what is real with what is imagined. They pull at the heart, inviting us into a magical realm where dreams and desires are awakened, and a promise for utopia shimmers in the distance.

Lastly, a few lines from the book’s closing section “The Romantics and The Principle of Beauty”:

In “Preface to Lyrical Ballads” the poet Wordsworth equates beauty with love, and I am certain the mystics do the same. It has to be, that our core self – our very center – is a place of dazzling beauty. And love – – its expression.

End of sample text.

“Art & Inspiration” unfolds from the following image:

It is my hope that the tactile sensation of unfolding the book’s final chapter will feel like opening a present and enhance the experience of beauty.

behind the scenes

the making of Inspired By Beauty:  A Journey Through Time

Meet our visionary lifestyle photographer, Phillip Van Nostrand, in action! In this scene, Lauren Rossi is wearing her marvelous, handsewn, 18th-century French-inspired corset, called stays. True to the era, Lauren wears the stays over her handmade linen shift. The shift protected the exquisite fabrics of a fashionable lady’s dress from a body that was not regularly bathed.

Take Pleasure in the Outdoors

We shot this scene on a warm autumn day, with heady scents of English roses and lavender phlox lingering in the air.

The seductive quality of scent – and its powerful effect upon our emotions and passions – is touched upon in the book’s final chapter, “Art & Inspiration”. Edmund Burke’s, 18th-century treatise, A Philosophical Enquiry Into The Origin Of Our Ideas Of The Sublime And Beautiful is referenced. Burke’s aesthetic theories provide a fascinating exploration of how we perceive and process beauty.

 participating artists

LAUREN ROSSI – Historical dressmaker and model, was featured on the Palace of Versailles’ promotional poster for their Fêtes Galantes 2018, wearing her handmade, 18th-century French-inspired robe à la française. Additionally, she starred in the short film Adrift by Gray Cat Films, wearing her original robe à l’anglaise. Adrift was an Official Selection at the Austin Micro Short Film Festival 2019.

Ms. Rossi has been featured in national publications and has a global online following. Her work can be viewed on Instagram at VirtuousCourtesan

LAUREN DECOSIMO – Award-winning hairstylist, has been featured in national publications. She has styled hair for television productions, magazine shoots, and New York Fashion Week. She also teaches hairstyling throughout the country.

ANDREA FISHER – AUTHOR – Former dancer and choreographer, my work was performed by my New York City-based dance company (late 1970s-1990) in New York City theaters, dance festivals, universities, and at the Nassau County Museum of Art (on the former Frick Estate). I received numerous grants for my choreography from the New York State Council on the Arts, where I later served a term as a grant panelist. Features in print include The New York Times and Dance Magazine. Photos of my choreography – taken by legendary photographer Lois Greenfield – are part of the permanent archives of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. These photos can also be viewed on this website’s “Gardens and Dance” page (tab above).

– As a DESIGNER, I hold the title of Official Garden Designer of the Mission of Argentina to the United Nations. My garden designs, which have been featured in print, were most recently featured online at Victoria magazine.

– As an ANTIQUE DEALER, I enjoyed selling fine French period furniture, specializing in pieces by Maison Jansen, Maison Baguès, and François Linke. I also sold Jansen and Linke pieces at Sotheby’s.

– As a FINE ART DEALER, I sold French period art at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, lectured on 18th- and 19th-century French academic art and the 18th-century interior, and continue to sell art to private collectors (though on a very small scale). Living with and researching these exquisite art pieces, until they found a home, was one of my greatest pleasures! Haunted by their beauty, I was inspired to merge my passions, from a career in dance, to French period art and design, to the creation of this book. 

– As a WRITER, my creative nonfiction piece, “My Russian Roots” was published in March, 2022. A memoir-style essay,  it was inspired by the principle of tolerance. I am also delighted to announce that I was recently awarded Honorable Mention in the Memoirs/Personal Essay category of the 92nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. Other works in progress include, “The Wonder of all Wonders: Childhood Longings Recalled Through a Dress” and “Ancestral Memories: Three Generations Of War”. 

On a personal note: I was a homeschooling mother whose passions include animal rescue, growing antique and English roses, and baking (having graduated from Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School in Baking and Pastry Arts and received all three levels of certification in cake decorating at NY Cake Academy).

[© 2023.  All photos displayed on this webpage are copyrighted by Andrea Lynn Fisher and may not be used or reproduced without permission.  All other copyrighted content, including selected excerpts and other texts, are copyrighted by Andrea Lynn Fisher and may not be used or reproduced without permission.]

The following is a preliminary list of items featured in the book.

ART:
18th- and 19th-century French Art:

18th-century chalk-manner print by Gilles Demarteau the Elder (Court Engraver to Louis XV); 18th-century watercolor painting attributed to Jean-Baptiste Huet; Pair of 18th-century sanguine, chalk drawings (said to be portraits of the French royal family); 19th-century pastel by academic painter and draughtsman Pierre Carrier-Belleuse; 19th-century bronze sculpture of Diana, goddess of the hunt, signed Jean-Alexandre-Joseph Falguière (a museum exhibited piece); 19th-century bronze sculpture of Artemis signed Eugène Marioton and a 19th-century engraving after Auguste Toulmouche.

Contemporary Art:

Fine-art photography (presented in gilded frames) by Brooklyn-based artists Scott Irvine and Kim Meinelt of WAXenVINE;* Paper sculptures of Flowers, Ballet Slippers and Ballet Dress by Danish artist Marie-Louise Otte.*

*[Marie-Louise Otte’s paper sculptures have exhibited at The Copenhagen Opera House and WAXenVINE have exhibited in galleries in New York .]

FABRIC:
Baker; Fortuny – contemporary and antique; JAB Anstoetz Group; Kravet; Osborne & Little; Pierre Frey; Scalamandré – including Edmond Petit, Lelièvre and Old World Weavers.

FURNITURE AND FURNISHINGS:
Antique Furniture and Furnishings:

ABC Carpet & Home; Crown Regent Bone China; Maison Baguès; Maison Jansen – including Louis XVI style, Jansen chairs from the descendants of Stéphane Boudin; Minton from Period Elegance, Ca; Tiffany & Co. and 18th- and 19th-century French furniture.

Contemporary Furniture and Furnishings:

AGM Marble and Tile Importers; Baguès Paris; Baker; Blanche Field; Fermob; Frette: Gracie Studio; Interior Crafts Inc.; Jan Showers Collection; Maison Taillardat; Modern History and Niermann Weeks

JEWELRY:
Pilgrim New York – Vintage Chanel Paris gold-plated chain necklace and logo earrings.

PASSEMENTERIE:
Houlès Paris; Samuel & Sons, New York City and East Coast Trimming, New York City
Houlès was founded in Paris, France in 1928. 

PASTRIES:
Ladurée, SoHo, New York City.
Founded in Paris, France in 1862.

PORCELAIN:
Bernardaud, New York City boutique – Tea cups with saucers and plates. 
Founded in Limoges, France in 1863.

SILK FLORALS:
Lifelike Flowers, London.

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