Erté
Early Life and Artistic Awakening Romain de Tirtoff, known to the world as Erté, was born into a life of privilege and tradition in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on November 23, 1892. His lineage traced back centuries to Tatar khans, and his father served with distinction as an admiral in the Imperial Russian Fleet. Yet, young Romain’s destiny lay not on the waves but within the realm of art—a passion that blossomed early, nurtured by a mother he deeply adored and the exotic beauty of Persian miniatures found within his father's library. These intricate designs would become a subtle yet endurin…
The Subject Atlas
A chart of Erté's corpus mapped not by date but by subject. Spokes are what they painted; rings are when; and the threads between stars reveal the patrons and places that secretly connect them.
Spokes — Subject
Each arm of the atlas gathers works by what they depict: portraits, sacred scenes, mythologies, and the scientific studies. Click a spoke to swing that cluster to the top.
Rings — Career Period
Distance from the center marks time. The innermost ring is the earliest period; the outermost, the final years. Style matures as you move outward.
Threads — Shared Context
Coloured lines link works bound by the same patron, commission, or theme. Trace a context to watch related clusters light up across subjects.
