Erté

Romain de Tirtoff was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté. He was a diversely talented 20th-century artist and designer who flourished in an array of fields, including fashion, jewellery, graphic arts, costume and set design for film, theatre, and opera, and interior decor. 

When I started my Theatre Design degree in our first lecture we were told that a good theatre designer is 'a Jack of all trades'. I was quite relieved by this at the time, as I had never settled to one creative discipline to 'master'. I came across Erté during my studies and his costume designs captivated me for their striking graphic decorative qualities. However, the more I learn about this artist the more I realise he is no jack, but a rare master of many trades. 

This year I treated myself to an Erté calendar and this weekend when I came upon this months picture appropriately entitled 'The Fall' that I hadn't recalled seeing before, I just had to share my love of this talented artist with you. I find his work a joyous celebration of life and his riotous use of colour pulsates out from his images with a vibrant energy. As I'm currently feeling like death warmed up with my first cold of the season that's exactly what my soul requires, so I thought this picture worth sharing. It reminds me of some of his Harper Bazaar covers from the 1920's.

Under the picture there was a fact that I also hadn't heard before about him and that demonstrates how we should always try to nurture every early creative endeavour:

Erté loved to sketch from an early age. His mother, Natalia Mikhailova was a great influence on him. At the age of five he designed an evening dress for her, styled on traditional Russian sarafan. Impressed by her son's design, his mother had it copied and made into a dress. It was the first design Erté created to be made into a garment. 

Maybe the lesson here is that we should all aspire to be 'masters of all' and not to limit ourselves to one creative path through life.