Red (And Green) October

This delightful illustration graces the cover of the October 1917 edition of Vanity Fair. Unfortunately I don’t recognise the signature and was unable to track down the illustrator’s name online.

It’s all about the ellipse here: the skirt, the cuffs and collar; the loops of the rope; as well as the oval print on the dress. The circular composition leads one’s eye round and round, and it is amusing to note that the green rope has only one end! The illustrator must have decided this looked much neater than trying to fit in two tassels.

It’s interesting to reflect that such a light-hearted image was published in the same month of world-shaking events: the Russian Revolution came to a head and lead to the fall of the autocracy.