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Erté Collection
(Romain de Tirtoff)
Throughout the page that follows, we have presented a
selection of vintage images from the Russian-born painter
Romain de Tirtoff -
known as Erté.
We have developed a range of
Giftware that includes images
reproduced from the 1st Edition plates in our collection
to ensure the most accurate form, line and colour possible. We have utilised a high definition capture and reproduction
technique for the
images - in contrast to the low definition representation necessary for this
website. The illustrations are
available as cards, infants' clothing, T-shirts
and unmatted, matted or framed prints (8x6", 10x8", 12x10", 15x10" and
30 x 20" images sizes).
Pricing starts at US$4 for single Gift Cards (US$18 for select packs of 6) and 10 x 8" prints
(double-matted and framed) begin at US$60. Further details on those
reproduction images are available at the
Giftware section of this
site.
Should you wish to discuss an order, please contact us at
ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com referencing your request
with the Stock
Code of the plate, or plates in question and a brief description (and rest assured, we do accept payment
through PayPal or Direct Bank
Deposit).
In the meantime, enjoy browsing our selection of
genuine vintage and antique plates.
The Artwork of Erté
Romain de Tirtoff (1893-1990) was a Russian-born artist
who became closely associated with the Art Nouveau and
Art Deco aesthete through
his painting, couture and theatrical work.
His artistic interest was apparent from an early age -
his first successful costume design was penned when he was aged
just 5 - and
were quite contrary to the wishes of his father (a Fleet Admiral in the Russian
Navy) who expected his son
to follow the family's military tradition. Despite
those wishes, in 1912, he moved from Russia to Paris to become a
fashion
illustrator. Around the time of that relocation, he began to refer to himself as Erté (a construction that was
drawn from the French pronunciation of his
initials).
Erté was closely associated with Harper's Bazaar
- he contributed fashion drawings to the journal for 22 years after his
first
contract soon after his arrival in Paris. It is arguable, however, that he is
best remembered for the stunning designs
he contributed to the Folies-Bergère
(Paris) and George White's Scandals (New York).
His popularity was revived throughout the 1950s and
1960s and he continued to be productive well into the final
decade of his life.
1916-1926
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Sports cloak for Henry Bendel
New York, 1916
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 1 |
Vanilla Pods
Les Fleurs du Mal
Théâtre du
Ba-ta-Clan
Paris, 1916
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 2 |
Costume for
Mistinguett
Théâtre du
Ba-ta-Clan
Paris, 1917
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 3
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Source of the Amazon River
The Rivers
Folies Bergère, 1923
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 4 |
Source of the Rhine
The Rivers
Folies Bergère, 1923
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 5 |
Dress for Madame
Bordoni
1925
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 6
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Pierrot
1925
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 7 |
Corn
Vegetable Ballet
George White
Scandals, 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 8 |
Celery
Vegetable Ballet
George White
Scandals, 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 9
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Onion
Vegetable Ballet
George White Scandals, 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 10 |
Carrot
Vegetable Ballet
George White
Scandals, 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 11 |
Haystack
Lucky Doll
George White
Scandals
New York, 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 12
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Horseshoe
Lucky Doll
George White Scandals
New York, 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 13 |
The Annunciation
Illustration for
The London News
1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 14 |
The Triunphant
Courtesan
George White
Scandals. 1926
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 15
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Le Mystere Des Pierreries
(1926)
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Le Mystere Des Pierreries (1926)
Le Mystere Des Pierreries
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 1 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
La grappe d'or
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 2 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
Les enlacements de la fl'amme
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 3
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Le Mystere Des Pierreries (1926)
L'océan
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 4 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
L'oiseau encbanté
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 5 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
La première parure
de Vénus
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 6
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Le Mystere Des Pierreries (1926)
Le bracelet
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 7 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
Le premier ebeveu
blanc
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 8 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
La rose au pollen de
diamants
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 9
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Le Mystere Des Pierreries (1926)
Le choix d'un cæur
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 10 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
Astarté
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 11 |
Le Mystere Des
Pierreries (1926)
Souvenirs
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E LMDP 12
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1927-1938
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Mannikin Head for Pierre Imans'
The Queen of Sheba
Folies Bergère
Paris, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 16 |
Stage Set
Princesses de
Légende
Folies Bergère
Paris, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 17 |
Perfumes
Folies Bergère
Paris, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 18
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The Queen of Sheba
Folies Bergère
Paris, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 19 |
Costume
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 20 |
Costume
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 21
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Costume
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 22 |
Costume
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 23 |
Transformable costume
(first effect)
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 24
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Transformable costume
(second effect)
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 25 |
Curtain
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 26 |
Curtain
Manhattan Mary
New York, 1927
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 27
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Precious Stone
George White's
Scandals, 1928
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 28 |
Dancer
Venus Moderne
George White's
Scandals
New York, 1928
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 29 |
The Mysterious Woman
1929
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 30
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The Thousand-Year Egg
Aladin
Folies Bergère
Paris, 1929
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 31 |
The Genie of the
Lamp
Aladin
Folies Bergère
Paris, 1929
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 32 |
Paris openings
Harper's Bazaar
cover
1931
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 33
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Riviera
Harper's Bazaar
cover
1932
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 34 |
Jade Bracelet
1932
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 35 |
A Merveilleuse
Au Temps des
Merveilleuses
Théâtre du Châtelet
Paris, 1934
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 36
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Summer fun
Harper's Bazaar
cover
1935
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 37 |
Evening dress
Paris, 1937
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 38 |
Evening dress
Paris, 1937
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 39
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Afternoon dress
Paris, 1937
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 40 |
Afternoon dress
Paris, 1937
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 41 |
Panther Costume
London Symphony
London, 1938
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E F 42
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Alphabet
(1927-1967)
The words of Erté - from his memoirs - provide a
wonderful description of the history surrounding the development
of this
exquisite set of images:
I began to compose my Alphabet in 1927, after the great
success of my first exposition at the
Galerie Charpentier in Paris in 1926. With my habitual optimism, I thought
I would finish it for
my next exposition at the Galerie Charpentier, which was already arranged for 1928-29.
I had not thought of all my other work, which I had to
do at the same time. There was my
contract with Harper's Bazaar, which required me to send a cover
drawing regularly each month
as well as a number of other drawing for fashion and decoration, in addition to occasional
articles.
There was also my work for the theatre: in 1926 and
1928, two spectacular reviews, the George
White Scandals, and in 1927 a musical comedy, Manhattan Mary, also produced
by George White
at the Majestic Theature in New York. In addition: numerous drawings for reviews at the
Folies-Bergère
in Paris and many theatrical costumes for opera singers such as Lucrezia Bori (of the Metropolitan,
New
York), Ganna Walska (Chicago Opera Company), Maria Kuznetsov (Paris Opera), etc. In short,
at the time of
my second exposition at the Galerie Charpentier in 1929, my alphabet was barely begun.
I worked at it afterwards in
every moment of relative calm. So its execution stretched out over a long
number of years.
When I wanted to show it at the Grosvenor Gallery in
London, in 1967, I realized that one letter of the
alphabet had not yet been finished.
That letter was then finished in August, 1967, when I
came back from Montreal, where I had designed the
sets and costumes for a big spectacle at the Expo '67. Although
the execution of the alphabet was thus
broken up, the overall plan was already completely established in my head when
I started to work on it.
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"A"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 1 |
"B"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 2 |
"C"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 3
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"D"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 4 |
"E"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 5 |
"f"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 6
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"G"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 7 |
"H"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 8 |
"I"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 9
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"J"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 10
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"K"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 11 |
"L"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 12
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"M"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 13
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"N"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 14 |
"O"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 15
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"P"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 16
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"Q"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 17 |
"R"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 18
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"S"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 19
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"T"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 20 |
"U"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 21
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"V"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 22
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"W"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 23 |
"X"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 24
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"Y"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 25
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"Z"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E A 26 |
Numbers
(1968)
Again, the words of Erté appearing in memoirs provide an
insight into the development of this
exquisite
set of images:
In the twenty-six compositions which make up my
alphabet, I have closely linked my love
for the human body, exalted by the dance, with the
graphic arabesques of the characters
of writing. I applied the same principle to the series
of ten lithographs, which appeared
in 1968, depicting the numbers from 0 to 9.
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"0"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 1 |
"1"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 2 |
"2"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 3
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"3"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 4 |
"4"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 5 |
"5"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 6
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"6"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 7 |
"7"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 8 |
"8"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 9
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"9"
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E N 10 |
Seven Deadly Sins
(1968)
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Envy
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 1 |
Anger
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 2 |
Pride
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 3
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Avarice
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 4 |
Sloth
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 5 |
Lust
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 6
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Gluttony
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E SDS 7 |
The Zodiac
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Capricorn
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 1 |
Aquarius
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 2 |
Pisces
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 3
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Aries
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 4 |
Taurus
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 5 |
Gemini
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 6
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Cancer
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 7 |
Leo
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 8 |
Virgo
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 9
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Libra
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 10 |
Scorpio
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 11 |
Sagittarius
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E Z 12
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Emerald Vase I
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E CNG 1 |
Emerald Vase II
Provenance: An American Collector
Code: E CNG 2 |
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