The Artist Known as Erte
One of the most famous and popular artists of the Art Deco period was the Russian-born painter Romain de Tirtoff, commonly known as Erte (after the French pronunciation of his initials). Erte began as a costume designer. He designed amazing costumes for the Folies-Bergere in Paris and for stage productions in New York City. He designed for opera, ballet, traditional theater, and in Hollywood for MGM films. Some art historians believe that Erte successfully bridged the gap between Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Erte was self-taught, beginning his costume designs at the age of five years.
With the onset of World War I, the demand for lavish and outlandish clothing dried up, and Erte then landed a contract with Harper’s Bazaar to contribute fashion drawings. He had a 22-year long affiliation with that publication, designing covers and contributing fashion illustrations. In order to view Erte’s contributions to film one would have to access some very vintage movies, including the 1929 MGM movie Paris, and the 1926 movie version of Ben Hur. He designed for William Randolph Hearst’s silent movie, The Restless Sex. MGM also used his designs in their productions of The Mystic, Bright Lights, The Comedian, and La Boheme.
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Erte’s original work became the focus of retrospectives at major museums, and sold within minutes of being placed on the market. His stylized renditions of women and their clothing in fanciful backgrounds caught the fancy of the public. To satisfy the demand for his work, he produced lithographs, which to this day are in great demand. Erte died in April, 1990.
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