Artist: Erte
Title: Triumph of the Courtesan
Edition: Roman Numeral Edition of 45
Size: 29 3/4" x 35 3/4"
Size Framed: 35 5/8" x 43 1/4"
Year: 1987
Signed and numbered by the artist in pencil
This is a rare Roman Numeral Edition raised embossed Erte serigraph. The piece has the look of a relief sculpture the way the embossing pulls off the wall. The piece is in mint condition and came from a collection that never exposed it to UV rays. This piece is as good as new. We recently framed the piece sparing no expose at all as you can see rom the photos. This is the nicest version of this piece on the internet for sale and the nicest we have come across. Comes with a gallery certificate of authenticity and our lifetime exchange policy with more information below. Erte's Career
In 1907, he lived one year in Paris. He said about this time 'I did not discover Beardsley until when I had already been in Paris for a year'. In 1910–12, Romain moved to Paris to pursue a career as a designer. He made this decision 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 disgracing the family. He worked for Paul Poiretfrom 1913-1914. 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. 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. One of his earliest successes was designing apparel for the French dancer Gaby Deslys who died in 1920. His delicate figures and sophisticated, glamorous designs are instantly recognizable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion into the 21st century. His costumes, programme 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 wore 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 Erté 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. In 1920 he designed the set and costumes for the film The Restless Sex starring Marion Davies and financed by William Randolph Hearst.
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, andwearable art.
His work may be found in the collections of several well-known museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA); as well, a sizable collection of work by Erté can be found at Museum 1999 in Tokyo.