Edouard-Marcel Sandoz Art

Demetre Haralamb Chiparus (also known as Dumitru Chiparus) (16 September 1886 in Dorohoi, Romania - 22 January 1947 in Paris, France) was a Romanian Art Deco* era sculptor who lived and worked in Paris. He was born in Romania, the son of Haralamb and Saveta. In 1909 he went to Italy, where he attended the classes of Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. In 1912 he traveled to Paris to attend the Ecole des Beaux Arts* to pursue his art at the classes of Antonin Mercie and Jean Boucher. Demetre Chiparus died in 1947 and was buried in Bagneux cemetery, just south of Paris. The first sculptures of Chiparus were created in the realistic style and were exhibited at the Salon of 1914. He employed the combination of bronze and ivory, called chryselephantine*, to great effect. Most of his renowned works were made between 1914 and 1933. The first series of sculptures manufactured by Chiparus were the series of the children. The mature style of Chiparus took shape beginning in the 1920s. His sculptures are remarkable for their bright and outstanding decorative effect. Dancers of the Russian Ballet, French theatre, and early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by a long, slender, stylized appearance. His work was influenced by an interest in Egypt, after Pharaoh Tutankhamen's tomb was excavated. He worked primarily with the Edmond Etling and Cie Foundry in Paris administrated by Julien Dreyfus. Les Neveux de J. Lehmann was the second foundry which constantly worked with Chiparus and produced the sculptures of his models. Chiparus rarely exhibited at the Salon. In 1923 he showed his Javelin Thrower, and in 1928 exhibited his Ta-Keo dancer. During the period of Nazi persecution and the World War II, the foundries discontinued production of work by Chiparus. The economic situation of that time was not favorable to the development of decorative arts and circumstances for many sculptors worsened. Since the early 1940s almost no works of Chiparus were sold, but he continued sculpting for his own pleasure, depicting animals in the Art Deco style. At the 1942 Paris Salon, the plaster sculptures Polar Bear and American Bison were exhibited, and in 1943 he showed a marble Polar Bear and plaster Pelican. Sculptures of Dimitri Chiparus represent the classical manifestation of Art Deco style in decorative bronze ivory sculpture. Traditionally, four factors of influence over the creative activity of the artist can be distinguished: Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ancient Egyptian art, and French theatre. Early motion pictures were among his more notable subjects and were typified by figures with a long, slender, stylized appearance. Some of his sculptures were directly inspired by Russian dancers. Quite often, Chiparus used the photos of Russian and French dancers, stars and models from fashion magazines of his time. After the tomb of Tutankhamun was discovered in 1922, the art of ancient Egypt...

Demetre Chiparus Egyptian Dancer, ca. 1920 Bronze, enamel, gilt metal, and marble 29 in Signed to base 'Chiparus'

Oriental Dancer Cold-painted Bronze Figure, circa 1925 on a shaped marble plinth inset with bronze medallions 15 in high, signed to base 'Chiparus' Demetre Chiparus was a Romanian s...

Whether in the draping of a silk gown worn by an opera diva, or in the sparkle of an intricately beaded headdress worn by a woman of society, Erté had an exceptionally acute visual memory of every detail of his early design creations. It was no wonder then that his fashion designs were so adeptly applied to the sculpture format. In Mermaid, we have a fine example of how Erté carried the technical possibilities of the sculpture medium to a new level. This attention to detail added to his legend as one of the Twentieth Century’s foremost artist-designers, with work represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Paris Opera House, the Smithsonian Institution and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Through Mermaid, Erté takes us beyond the female form by choosing the intriguing legendary sea creature whose upper body is that of a woman, and whose lower body is that of an aquatic creature. In quintessential Erté style...

Erté’s image of Helen of Troy also exists as a gouache painting and a serigraph. Known as "the face that launched a thousand ships" and as Zeus' daughter, her story is one that is intricately intertwined with many of the Greek gods and goddesses...

The Hunting is a sculptural interpretation of Autumn, a lithograph from Erté’s The Four Seasons. It represents a beautiful creature – half woman, half animal – wounded by a cruel hun...

Cornucopia pays homage to the great goddesses of abundance and fortune, with a modern twist – rather than showing the bounty of the earth overflowing from the horn, this Cornucopia o...

Erté created many costumes and artworks inspired by his travels and experiences with the countries and cultures of the Asian world. In addition, the French music halls which were an ...

Erté designed Golden Fleece for a Folies-Bergére scene entirtled "The Golden Fleece" and a 1926 George White's Scandals scene entitled "La Toison d'or." Erté, whose artistic style was influenced in part by a childhood admiration of classic Greek art, was always drawn to a good story with a sense of drama – typified by Greek tragedy. Catalogue - Erté: The Last Works (Dutton, pgs. 115, 207). From the total edition of 462; numbered 207/375 (there were also 50 Roman and 37 AP). Referring to the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, the Golden Fleece sculpture depicts an elegant woman in a classic Greek garment. The curled horns of the ram style her headdress, elegant in appearance and yet fierce in battle. Descending from these horns is the golden fleece itself, its curly mane covering the woman to her toes. Her gown, a gracefully draped toga, is designed to leave one breast bared, in the folkloric tradition of the Amazon tribe of women warriors...

Erté, considered by many as the “Father of Art Deco,” often acknowledged that his love for the theater was a great source of creativity and inspiration. He conveyed in his art a drama with which he lived his life – a dream that came from the very innermost expression of his soul. Just like theater has two faces - comedy and tragedy - Erté was a brilliant showman, as well as a quiet man who sometimes would prefer to be left alone. From a young age, he was immersed in the world of opera, ballet, and theater. When he designed costumes and sets for theatrical productions, it was a lifelong desire that he was fulfilling. “Broadway’s in Fashion” is a fitting tribute to the legendary Broadway from a man who pursued the theatrical in everything he did. In 1978, Erté was honored by the Eugene O’Neill Foundation at a gala celebration in New York entitled “Broadway’s in Fashion” for which Erté designed the poster. This led to a CBS-TV film on Erté narrated by the legendary Diana Vreeland, and an exhibition of his costume designs at the Boston Center of the Arts. This sculpture, in scarlet and black, with white gold embellishments, incorporates the elements for which Broadway is best known. Her elegant and confident posture reveals her costume, which is itself an homage to Broadway – the scarlet robe with gold tassels evokes the stage curtain as it rises to reveal the first act, the male and female dancers, energetically giving their all for each performance, and the Greek masks of comedy and tragedy...

La Mystérieuse was inspired by Erté’s design for a wedding gown published in Harper’s Bazar in 1923. Erté wrote, “The name comes from the effect of mystery of this exquisite outfit. The dress was designed to be in white crêpe embroidered with geometric designs in silver and adorned with snow-white ermine...

By Commission. Casting and custom paint will take approximately 4 months. I have to get in line with my paint expert. Cape Lady is a polished bronze casting painted with Glasurit, a hand sprayed car paint. It is BMW white and BMW black. It is a limited edition of 15 with 2 artist proofs. The current edition available would be 6/15. It was cast from an original wood carving by David Hostetler...