Porcelain Russian princess

Roman Petrovich Tyrtov (pseudonym Erté; November 23 (December 4), 1892, St. Petersburg - April 21, 1990) Russian porcelain princess.

Author's work by Erté - "Stardust" Porcelain. Fabric. Gems. Collectible condition. Certificates. Erté-designed brand box. The price tag on the box is twenty years old - $750 USD. Dimensions 45cm x 25cm x 20cm.

Artist-fashion designer, graphic artist, stage designer. Representative of an ancient family that traces its origins back to Tatar khan Tyrt. Son of Peter Ivanovich Tyrtov, a hereditary naval officer and head of the Naval Engineering Academy. In 1900, he visited the World Exhibition in Paris with his mother and sister. He was introduced to I.E. Repin and received his first painting lesson from him. In 1910, he studied under the artist D.E. Losevsky. In 1912, after graduating from gymnasium, he refused the traditional military career for his family and, with his father's permission, left Russia. (In 1923, with the help of the Red Cross and the American Relief Administration, he evacuated his parents from the USSR.) Establishing himself in Paris, he became a correspondent for the St. Petersburg magazine "Damskikh Mod" (Women's Fashion). He briefly attended R. Julien's Academy (class of historical painting by J.-P. Laurens), then studied independently. He adopted the pseudonym "Erté" (from the initials of his first name and surname) in order not to "shame" his family. In 1913, he started working for couturier Paul Poiret alongside artists José Zamora and Paul Iribe. He created his first works for the stage, including costumes for the play "Minaret" by Mata Hari at the "Renaissance" theater. With the start of World War I, he moved to Monte Carlo. In 1915, he signed a long-term contract with the American magazine "Harper's Bazaar", for which he designed over a hundred covers in the following 22 years. He also drew for American magazines Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women's Home Journal, Delineator, as well as English magazines The Sketch, Illustrated London News, and French magazines Femina, La Gazette du Bon Ton, and Plaisir de France. From 1917 to 1927, he created sets and costumes for the Folies Bergère music hall. In 1922, he received an offer from S.P.Dyagilev was supposed to design "The Sleeping Beauty" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, but he rejected it due to a more profitable contract in the USA. From 1925, he worked under contract with the Hollywood studio "Metro Goldwin Mayer", collaborating with silent film stars Lillian Gish and Mae Murray. He created sketches for set designs and costumes for Broadway music halls and the Chicago Opera. He also created costumes for ballet numbers performed by Anna Pavlova.

In 1927, he designed acts for Josephine Baker at the "Ba-ta-clan" music hall in Paris. In 1933, he began a long-term collaboration with the Parisian variety show "Bal Tabarin". In the 1920s and 1930s, he developed textile designs and created models for outerwear, footwear, and accessories in the Art Deco style. He collaborated with leading American fashion salons. Starting from 1929, he advocated for the reform of men's fashion, demonstrating the right for men to wear velvet and brocade in the style of the 18th century. He held his first solo exhibitions in Brussels (Studio gallery, 1927) and Paris (J. Charpentier hotel, 1929). During World War II, he remained in Paris, designing sets and costumes for cabaret shows at the "Lido" and operettas. In the 1940s and 1950s, he continued to work in the field of stage design, creating sets for the Parisian variety show "La Nouvelle Eve" and collaborating with theaters in Paris, Chicago, New York, London, Marseille, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, and Beirut. He worked on accessory and jewelry designs for fashion magazines. In 1964, he turned to sculpture, creating abstract (or, in his definition, "pictorial") forms. He worked with watercolor, gouache, ink, lithography, created posters, sketches for vases, furniture, mirrors, and other luxury items. He created graphic series "Numbers" and "Alphabet," and developed playing cards. He continued to collaborate with fashion magazines and work in theater.

He designed sets for Roland Petit's performances featuring Renée Jeanmaire (Zizi). He developed the "unisex" style - matching costumes for men and women. In 1964, he held a solo exhibition at the Ror Volmar gallery in Paris, and in 1967-1968, he had exhibitions at the Grosvenor gallery in London and the Metropolitan Museum in New York (all 170 acts were presented).He held a series of personal exhibitions in Paris, Chicago, New York, Mexico, Parma, Palermo, and Milan from 1969-1973. In these years, his popularity increased due to a new surge of interest in art deco. Limited edition works of decorative and applied art were created based on his sketches, lithographs and postcards were published. He wrote a memoir (published in 1975 in New York and London). At the age of 97, he completed his last work - sketches of sets, costumes, and posters for the Broadway musical "Stardust." He passed away in the Kosher hospital in Paris after a brief illness that began during a trip to Mauritius. He was buried in the family tomb in the Boulogne Cemetery near Paris.