Figure in a Wide-brimmed Red Hat

Elegant and graphic study of a figure of undetermined gender. It's executed with quick and confident brush strokes in the artist's signature color scheme of black and red.
Count Renato Zavagli Ricciardelli della Caminateprofessionally known as René Gruau. It's a flat and simplified composition that is akin to more to minimalism than illustration.
US, Italy, and France. In his lifetime, Gruau worked for numerous magazines including Marie-Claire, Femina, Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Flair, L'Officiel, Madame Figaro, and L'Officiel de la Couture. Gruau was hired by major designers like Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior, Jacques Fath, Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli, Rochas, Lanvin, Elizabeth Arden, and Hubert de Givenchy. Gruau gave life to their haute couture clothing and expanded their popularity with his captivating illustrations. Gruau's illustrations reinvented many of the designs and gave them lambency and radiance that the fashion industry previously lacked. - Signed with a star and Gruau lower left