Page 48 - Raffles09_March2022

− EMOTION −
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An avid fan of Philippe Starck’s work, Jason captures the interior designer’s blend of classical proportions with cool contemporary touches as seen in Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris.
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The façade of Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris, with its variations in window and balcony styles, appealed to Jason who likens the grand dame’s architectural rhythm to a musical score.
JASON BROOKS
Credited as being among the first to bring digital technology to the field
of fashion illustration, Jason Brooks has worked with a wide range of luxury and lifestyle brands including Chanel, Lancôme, Tiffany & Co., Virgin Atlantic, Veuve Clicquot, Lucasfilm and, most recently Super Yachts Monaco, and over 70 of his prints and drawings are held in the permanent collection of London’s V&A Museum.
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once declared, “an artist has no home in Europe except in Paris,” and it is no secret that many of art history’s biggest names lived, studied and worked in the City of Lights. In celebration of this unique legacy, British illustrator Jason Brooks offers an art lover’s
tour of the city through the medium of postcards.
The first stop in his series is the lively hilltop village of Montmartre, where artists such as Henri Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre-Auguste Renoir congregated, and Jason himself resided when he worked on his illustrated journal Paris Sketchbook. We then follow the illustrator to Le Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris, not just a supremely chic hotel but a destination for art enthusiasts, with its own contemporary gallery.
A passion for fashion inspired Jason to sketch Coco Chanel’s apartment at 31 rue Cambon, the legendary designer’s place of sanctuary. Another luminary with an iconic Parisian residence was writer Colette, whose flat overlooked the Palais Royal – an urban oasis which Jason captures in its modern-day glory. Not forgetting to honour one of Paris’s most prominent artists, Jason offers a glimpse into the museum dedicated to François Auguste René Rodin’s work. Finally, Jason sends us a postcard from Café de Flore, which was popular among Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Yves Saint Laurent and Simone de Beauvoir – and is still a stylish meeting place to this day.
‘Wish you were here’ has long been expressed in letters home by travellers, and Jason’s postcards not only mirror this sentiment but provide us with endless reasons to visit Paris for lasting inspiration.
46 RAFFLES MAGAZINE