Wikipedia

Erté

Romain de Tirtoff(23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990), known by thepseudonymErté(from the French pronunciation of his initials:[ɛʁte]), was aRussian-bornFrenchartistand designer. He worked in several fields, includingfashion,jewellery,graphic arts,costume,set designfor film, theatre, and opera, andinterior decor.

Erté
Erté in front of his works at theSonnabend Gallery,New York City, 1970
Born
Romain Petrovich de Tirtoff[1]

(1892-11-23)23 November 1892
St. Petersburg,Russian Empire
Died21 April 1990(1990-04-21)(aged 97)
Paris,France
NationalityRussian,French
Known forvisual arts
Notable workSymphony in Black (1920s)
MovementArt Deco
PartnerPrince Nicholas Ourousoff
Signature

Early life

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Tirtoff was bornRoman Petrovich Tyrtov(Роман Петрович Тыртов) inSaint Petersburg,to a distinguished family with roots tracing back to 1548, to aTatarkhannamed Tyrt.[2]His father, Pyotr Ivanovich Tyrtov, served as an admiral in theRussian Fleet.

Early in life Erte became interested in a career in the theater or dance. But eventually, as he remembered years later,I came to the conclusion that I could live without dancing but could not give up my passion for painting and design.[3]

Career

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Demoiselle à la balancelle

Demoiselle à la balancelleis one of Erté's first sculptures, if not the first; it was made in 1907 at the age of 15 years while he studied in Paris. This work is less precise than his other sculptures, but stillArt Nouveau.Erté considered this work so minor and uninteresting that it does not appear in his official biography, but the cartouche on the back indicates 'ERTE PARIS 1907', in a triangle.

In 1910–12, Romain moved to Paris to pursue a career as a designer. In Paris he lived with Prince Nicolas Ouroussoff (December 17, 1879 – April 8, 1933) until the prince's death in 1933.[3][4][5]The decision to move to Paris was made despite strong objections from his father, who wanted Romain to continue the family tradition and become a naval officer. Romain assumed his pseudonym to avoid upsetting his family. He worked forPaul Poiretfrom 1913 to 1914. In 1915, he secured his first substantial contract withHarper's Bazaarmagazine, and thus launched an illustrious career that included designing costumes and stage sets. During this time, Erte designed costumes forMata Hari.[6]Between 1915 and 1937, Erté designed over 200 covers forHarper's Bazaar,and his illustrations would also appear in such publications asIllustrated London News,Cosmopolitan,Ladies' Home Journal,andVogue.[7]

Erté cover for
Harper's Bazar February 1922.

Erté is perhaps most famous for his elegant fashion designs which capture theart decoperiod in which he worked. One of his earliest successes was designing apparel for the French dancerGaby Deslyswho died in 1920. His delicate figures and sophisticated, glamorous designs are instantly recognisable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion into the 21st century. His costumes, programme designs, and sets were featured in theZiegfeld Folliesof 1923, many productions of theFolies Bergère,Bal Tabarin,Théâtre Fémina,Le Lido,[8]andGeorge White's Scandals.[9]On Broadway, the celebrated French chanteuseIrène Bordoniwore Erté's designs.

The Restless SexAd
featuring Erté as costume designer.
Cover Harper's Bazaar February 1921

In 1925,Louis B. Mayerbrought him to Hollywood to design sets and costumes for the silent filmParis.There were many script problems, so Erté was given other assignments to keep him busy. Hence, he designed for such films asBen-Hur,The Mystic,Time,The Comedian,andDance Madness.In 1920 he designed the set and costumes for the filmThe Restless SexstarringMarion Daviesand financed byWilliam Randolph Hearst.

By far, his best-known image isSymphony in Black,depicting a somewhat stylized, tall, slender woman draped in black holding a thin black dog on a leash. The influential image has been reproduced and copied countless times.[10]

Erté continued working throughout his life, designing revues, ballets, and operas. He had a major rejuvenation and much lauded interest in his career during the 1960s with the Art Deco revival. He branched out into the realm of limited edition prints, bronzes, andwearable art.[11]

Two years before his death, Erté created seven limited edition bottle designs forCourvoisierto show the different stages of the cognac-making process, from distillation to maturation.[12]In 2008, the eighth and final set of the remaining Erte-designed Courvoisier bottles, containing Grande Champagne cognac dating back to 1892, was released and sold for $10,000 apiece.

His work may be found in the collections of several well-known museums, including theVictoria and Albert Museum,theMetropolitan Museum of Art,and theLos Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA);as well, a sizable collection of work by Erté can be found at Museum 1999 in Tokyo.

  • Erté evening dress in beaded lamé, exhibited in theRijksmuseum
  • Erté teachesIra Reinesabout the art of sculpting


Writings

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  • Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)by Erté;Roland Barthes.Parma: F. M. Ricci, 1970.
  • Erté Fashions.New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1972.
  • Things I Remember: An Autobiography,Quadrangle / The New York Times Book Co., 1975,ISBN0-8129-0575-X.
  • Designs by Erté: fashion drawings and illustrations from "Harper's bazar"by Erté;Stella Blum.New York: Dover Publications, 1976.
  • Erté's Costumes and Sets for Der Rosenkavalier - 1980 Glyndebourne Festival Productionby Erté; John Cox. New York:Dover Publications,1980,ISBN0486239993.
  • Erté at ninety: the complete graphicsby Erté; Marshall Lee; Jack Solomon. London:Weidenfeld & Nicolson,1982,ISBN9780297781707.
  • Erté: sculptureby Erté; Alastair Duncan; Pascale Millière; Lee Boltin; Studio f28. Paris: Albin Michel, 1986.
  • Erté: My Life / My Art: An Autobiography.New York: E P Dutton, 1989.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"ERTÉ (1892-1990)".Artprice.com.
  2. ^Aleksandr Vasilʹev,Beauty in Exile: The Artists, Models, and Nobility who Fled the Russian Revolution and Influenced the World of Fashion,Harry N. Abrams (2000), p. 33
  3. ^ab"22 Russians Who We Won't Let Vladimir Putin Forget Were Gay".www.advocate.com.2013-08-06.Retrieved2022-08-19.
  4. ^Who's who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to World War II.Psychology Press. 2002. p. 180.ISBN9780415159838.Retrieved22 September2017.
  5. ^Aldrich, Robert; Wotherspoon, Garry (2020-10-07).Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History: From Antiquity to the Mid-Twentieth Century.Routledge.ISBN978-1-000-15888-5.
  6. ^Times, Flora Lewis Special to The New York (December 19, 1976)."Erté Recalls the Glamour of His Art (Published 1976)".The New York Times.
  7. ^Riding, Alan. "Erte, a Master of Fashion, Stage and Art Deco Design, Is Dead at 97".The New York Times22 April 1990,accessed 26 November 2009
  8. ^Erté (26 February 1979).Erté's Theatrical Costumes in Full Color.Courier Corporation.ISBN9780486238135– via Google Books.
  9. ^Meg (10 January 2010)."My Postcard Collection: Erte".
  10. ^Ðandy ©, Ŧhe ₵oincidental (17 November 2010)."Ŧhe ₵oincidental Ðandy: The Prolific Art, Illustrations & Designs of Erté".
  11. ^"Purple Dragon's Erté Page".5 February 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 5 February 2010.
  12. ^"Our Heritage". ("Our Heritage | Courvoisier UK".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-09-10.Retrieved2014-09-09.) (accessed 16 September 2014)
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