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Romain de Tirtoff (November 23, 1892 – April 21, 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T. He was a diversely-talented 20th century artist and designer who flourished in an array of fields, including fashion, jewelry, graphic arts, costume/set design (film, theatre, opera) and interior decor.

Life and work

Tirtoff was born Roman Petrovich Tyrtov (Роман Петрович Тыртов) in Saint Petersburg, to a distinguished family with roots tracing back to 1548. His father, Pyotr Ivanovich Tyrtov, served as an admiral in the Russian Fleet.

In 1910–12, Romain moved to Paris, France, to pursue a career as a designer. He made this decision over strong objections from his father, who wanted Romain to continue the family tradition and become a naval officer. Romain assumed his pseudonym to avoid disgracing the family. In 1915, he secured his first substantial contract with Harper's Bazaar magazine, and thus launched an illustrious career that included designing costumes and stage sets. Ultimately between 1915-1937, Erte designed over 200 covers for Harper's Bazaar, and his illustrations would also appear in such publications as Illustrated London News, Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, and Vogue.

Erté is perhaps most famous for his elegant fashion designs which capture the Art Deco period in which he worked. His delicate figures and sophisticated, glamorous designs are instantly recognizable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion into the 21st century. His costumes, program designs and sets were featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923, many productions of the Folies Bergère, and George White's Scandals. On Broadway, the celebrated French chanteuse Irène Bordoni, was famous for wearing Erté's designs.

In 1925, Louis B. Mayer brought him to Hollywood to design sets and costumes for the silent film, Paris. There were many script problems so Erte was given other assignments to keep him busy. Hence, he designed for such films as Ben-Hur, The Mystic, Time, the Comedian, and Dance Madness.

By far, his best known image is Symphony in Black depicting a tall, slender woman draped in black holding a thin black dog on a leash. The influential image has been reproduced and copied countless times.

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 and wearable art.

His work may be found in the collections of several well-known museums, including he Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a sizable collection of work by Erté can be found at Museum 1999 in Tokyo.

Quotations

"A resourceful woman who is almost downright plain can achieve the reputation of a beauty simply by announcing to everybody she meets that she is one."

"Look at me, I'm in another world - a dream world that invites oblivion. People take drugs to achieve such freedom from their daily cares. I've never taken drugs. I've never needed them. I achieve a high through work."

Works

• Things I remember: An autobiography, Quadrangle/The New york Times Book Co., 1975, ISBN 081290575X.

Notes

1. Riding, Alan. "Erte, a Master of Fashion, Stage and Art Deco Design, Is Dead at 97". New York Times 22 April 1990 (http://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/22/obituaries/erte-a-master-of-fashion-stage-and-art-deco-design-is-dead-at-97.html) (accessed 26 November 2009)

External links

• Obituary New York Times, 22 April 1990
• Erté site (Russian)
• Erte.com
• Erté fashion drawings
• Erte art site
• Ten Dreams Galleries
• Museum1999 in Tokyo
• View signed prints sculptures and originals at Doubletake Gallery

• 1892 births
• 1990 deaths
• Costume designers
• Fashion illustrators
• French artists
• Opera designers
• People from Saint Petersburg
• Russian artists