Creative personality: Erte, designer Art Deco era

 Erte - alias man who calls himself a French artist of Russian origin. Erté - the first letters of his name and surname and receiving calls nom de -plyum with a Western accent - was born in Santkt Petersburg in 1892. His father - Admiral of the Navy - proud history of surnames, whose roots can be traced up to the 16th century. He expected that his son will follow the path of glorious ancestors - will be the military, but the boy from childhood did not just want to draw, and to come up with clothes. His first novel suit constructed in 5 years. In 15 years, Monsieur Tirtoff first arrives in Paris and, of course, the city immediately imperiously takes him prisoner, but it will be a long three years before already an adult novel quarreled with his father and would go to live in the city of dreams. "In order not to disgrace the name of" the boy will come up with a nickname, and from that moment begins his new life.

Fame and success is not immediately found their future pet. "Young man, do in life than anything, but never try to become a costume designer. You will not succeed "- with these words some Carolina, the owner of the then known fashion house, creation Erte threw in the trash. A century later, the name of the lady remembered only because of the absurdity of the phrase. The first to believe in the genius of the future "Knight of Art Deco" legendary Pot Poiret. It was he who coined the shirting cut dresses, fashionable today, and he has brought into fashion kimono, called him "the man who shot the women with corset". Talented, loud, generous he did not skimp on the recognition of another's genius, perhaps because he was not deprived of nature. His fashion house glowed and shimmered like a living illustration of the oriental tale. Erte, a child often admiring his father's collection of Persian miniatures, felt in this atmosphere like a free dolphins in the oceans.

In 1915, just two fashion magazine - Harper's Bazaar and Vogue - offer it to decorate their pages. Young - barely 20 Erte - the artist does not even thought about the choice, he just tossed a coin. So Harper's Bazaar for many years has gained a magnificent illustrator. Since January 1915, when Erte drew first cover for the magazine until 1936, when out of his pencil flew last - he painted models have glorified it, and Harper's Bazaar. "What would be the cover of our magazine without Erte? "- Said the director of the magazine, William Hurst.

Orders from the Illustrated London News, Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal, and again from Vogue and fell on the artist. But other than that he had time to draw for theater and ballet performances, collaborated with Hollywood. In costumes from Erte were stars of the New York Music Hall in Radio City, dancer Parisian cabaret Folies Bergere, his work can be admired in the cult film "Ben-Hur" and outfits, invented this "elf art deco", were such stars as Anna Pavlova and Irene Bordoni, Joan Crawford and Marion Davies. Jewelry, bronze art, delicate silk-screen printing - here he also left imprints of his genius. One of the most famous figures Erte - Symphony in Black - during his life and after his death has been copied and, anyway, reproduced thousands of times.

Whatever drew Erte - the center of this universe was thin shaky gentle woman. Greek goddess and Assyrian princess, timid pearls harem or a bright star of music hall, rare birds and exotic flower - what was wearing sovereign of the world, it does not matter. All these hangings, shawls, handbags, scarves, gloves and chain only epithets in the complex language of fashion, notes his score. Erte fans were looking forward to his new works, to plunge into the wonderful world created by the artist. They cut and stored illustrations from magazines not as colorful pictures to follow, as well as the doors to the beautiful garden, which invited them, this refined Knight, creator of bizarre dreams, woven from art-deco ghostly realm of dreams. There, from the cradle of fashion, he awakens from slumber innermost women's dreams.

For many Erte - the epitome of style art deco, but of himself the artist wrote: "I must say that I do not belong to any of the schools of art, a particular style of my drawings serves as an instrument of expression of beauty image. In art, I'm an individualist. "