Goude presaged the technique of Photoshop years before it was invented—working only with paint, sticky tape and board to achieve the effect that now comes at the click of a mouse. Wryly dubbing his image modifications “French Corrections”—a play on the movie title The French Connection that was conceived while Goude was working as Art Director of the illustrious Esquire Magazine—he pioneered a world of artistic multitasking that has become part and parcel of contemporary existence.
In 1989, he was invited by the French government to design the annual Bastille Day parade—an epic request, which he fulfilled to its utmost by creating a sensory feast involving artificial snow, a troupe of Senegalize ballet dancers, and a marching band performing the hits by James Brown. As described by the New York Times on the eve of a major retrospective at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in 2012, “the intense and joyous imagination of this artist — illustrator, cinéaste and advertising guru — makes him not so much a symbol of the past as a model for the future.” His distinct, vibrant personal style and his discriminating taste have also shaped and inspired many of today's most well-known talents, from the lush, vibrant, otherworldy compositions of David LaChappelle to the ironic imaginings of Ryan McGinley.