(romain De Tirtoff) Erte' Biography
Romain de Tirtoff, known by the pseudonym Erté (St. Petersburg, 1892 - Paris, 1990) was a French painter and designer of Russian origin.
Erté was one of the most important promoters of the Art Deco movement. He was a decorator and fashion stylist, as well as a jewelry designer, set designer and magazine illustrator. At 19 he moved to Paris to start his career in design and in 1913-1914 he worked for Paul Poiret. In 1915 he began designing for Harper's Bazaar magazine and, between 1915 and 1937, he had already created more than 200 covers for this magazine. His illustrations also appeared in publications such as Illustrated London News, Cosmopolitan and Vogue. In Paris, he helped create major music hall shows and created some costumes for Mistinguett and Marion Davies. In 1969, he illustrated a volume for the Beatles.
He is also famous for his refined Art Deco productions: his favorite subjects are elegant and very tall female figures and his art still influences fashion and tradition today. In 1925 he moved to Hollywood to create sets and costumes for the silent film Paris. In addition, he also designed the sets for Ben-Hur, The Mystic and Dance Madness. During the following years he continued to work as a designer for operas, ballets and magazines.
