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MIRRORS
A reflection of Erté's immense artistic versatility.
The hand mirror collection contains six distinctive pieces, each varying in design and history. The Erté touch is obvious in the selection of the beveled and tinted glass (so we look our best!). Having all of these displayed on your wall is one of the best ways to showcase these important acquisitions. They are priced right (all six cost less than one of his major sculptures). Owning these mirrors is a reflection of your good taste. It should be emphasized that these mirrors, made of solid bronze, were conceived to be viewed as objects of art
The first mirror in the collection is All Sails Up. The High Museum of Art in Atlanta acquired this piece for its permanent collection.
All Sails Up, or Toutes Voiles Dehors, has a whimsical and timely meaning. The sails are up and full on the ship visible through the porthole. The meaning of this French phrase is "all decked out" or "let's get dressed up and go party." A beautiful woman is portrayed, using the glass of a porthole as a mirror as she checks her makeup, adjusts her jewelry and plays with her pearls. The typical wit and invention in this art is Erté's ingenious elongation of the tassel from the dress into a handle.
Pearls was originally conceived in 1918 and adapted by Erté in February 1985 as a hand mirror. The woman depicted is sophisticated and accustomed to the finer things in life. She fingers her pearls as others admire her beauty. Life for her remains exciting because she neither longs for yesterday nor dreams of tomorrow. She lives only for the moment. In this, the only oval-shaped mirror in the collection, the pearls symbolize the lady's wealth and status and also serve as a design feature to unite the body of the mirror with its handle.
In 1921, Erte had an inspiration for expressing a woman's romantic fantasy. The woman was sleeping and dreaming of being embraced by her lover. In 1985, Erte revisited this vision, fashioning it into an exquisite hand mirror which he called Sun and Moon. While Erté is best known for his art deco style, he also created many hauntingly beautiful art nouveau designs of which Sun and Moon, with its sweeping, sensuous curvilinear bronze form, is one of the most impressive. At the bottom of the handle the woman is shown dreaming of being with her lover. Her thoughts swirl upward to form a circle which represents the sun by day and the moon by night. It is a wonderful reflection on human nature that Erte depicts the woman as far more radiant and lovely when locked in her lover's embrace than she is in real life.
La Femme is based on one of Erté's most famous designs, done as a cover for Harper's Bazaar in 1919, when the artist was 27. The beautiful woman symbolized humanity's desire for freedom as World War I raged. The headdress, the octagonal shape and the proportions of the piece make it an art deco masterpiece.
La Jeune Fille, or Young Woman, portrays a carefree virgin marveling at a mirror image of herself. Though nude, she is blissfully unaware of the sexual attraction of her pubescent body. Yet, even now the natural sensuality of her youthful spirit, innocent and pure, hints at the erotic power to come. The single strand of pearls around her neck symbolizes purity, while the ball in the center motif, extended downward from the handle, gives strength to the form and perfect balance to the design.
The most exotic of Erté's hand mirrors, Indochina, tells a story of beauty, romance and intrigue. While Erté is best known for art deco, his work also includes Oriental, Greek and other exotic styles. Influenced by Persian miniatures, Erté is one of the great interpreters of orientalism. Indochina depicts a royal dancer from a fantasy land of Erté imagination. She is covered with pearls and jewelry to enhance her beauty. Her dance of love is symbolized romantically by the kissing lovers on her belt and headdress. The intrigue of the work is the setting, an exotic fantasy land where no man but Erté has traveled.
