Jan and Joel Martel Sculptures

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 215/375 (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...

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...

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 inspiration for this sculpture comes from Erté's original costume design entitled "Texas," for the 1917 New York stage production of "The American Millionaires." This spectacular...

Copacabana presents Erté's vision of fantasy, splendor, and femininity in a statuesque model wearing a cabaret costume. The gown is noted for its luxuriant richness and design. Softe...

The Rue Faubourg St. Honoré is a famous street in Paris's 8th District. While narrow compared to the Champs Elysées, it is considered the capital of Haute Couture due to the presence...

Erté is largely credited with creating the look of the Jazz Age. The 'Roaring Twenties' is a phrase used to describe the 1920s, principally in North America, but also in London and P...

Chinchilla Sleeves is based on a 1924 fashion design for Harper's Bazaar that showcased Erté's stunning new wraps and gowns for the upcoming season. A velvet gown edged with chinchil...

Figurative bronze sculpture of a man with his dog hunting. The man has a drawn bow. The sculpture is mounted on a marble base. The signature is stamped on to the bronze. Artist Bio...

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...

Erté originally created this image as a costume design for the "Fonds de la Mer," a presentation of the Folies Bergere in 1919. Catalogue - Erté: The Last Works (Dutton, pgs. 108, 2...

Sisters was inspired by a gouache painting from 1921 entitled 'Les baisers pervers ou la brune et la blonde' and is a wonderful example of an invention of Erté's from the early 1920s...