Cropped detail of Erté’s La Nouvelle Angleterre showing a nude woman in a red and ermine royal mantle decorated with a lion and unicorn

The Art of Erté

By Juan Artola Miranda | Last updated on July 12, 2026

Erté was the professional name of Romain de Tirtoff (1892–1990), a Russian-born French artist known for his fashion design and illustration. Most of the illustrations below are costume designs, but they look like they could be on the cover of a fashion magazine. You can find even M.S. Rau Erté collection.

Erté’s illustrations are aristocratically erotic. Plenty of nude and topless women, but in an elegant way, not a raunchy way. If you compare it against pin-up artists like Shane Glines, you’ll see what I mean. Part of it is the way they’re posed, but it’s also where he draws the eye. The figures are drawn simply, while the fashion is big, vibrant, and detailed, pulling the gaze away from the nudity and towards what little clothes the women wear. That makes sense. After all, these are costume designs.

I’m a big fan of ligne claire, and this art style has a similar sort of feel to it, but with more Art Deco, glamour, fashion, fairy tale, and cabaret.

Illustrations

Les fleurs du mal

Erté illustration of a nude woman entwined with enormous purple green and red flowers

Erté, Les fleurs du mal. “The Flowers of Evil.” The title invokes Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal. Makes me think of the Uth Duna armour set from Monster Hunter Wilds. Similar colours and flow. Same topless design. It makes me wonder if the guys making Monster Hunter were inspired by this illustration.

I also like how Erté rendered those pink pearls. They’ve got a nice colour and shine to them.

Betty

Erté costume design of a woman in black red and tan with a strange many-eyed animal headdress

Erté, Betty. Is this a Caribbean sort of costume? Looks like she has snakes for earrings and an unusually alert crotch. Cool how he’s merged the legs, tapering them down into a single foot. I like the illustration quite a lot, but I worry the costume would tickle my butt.

Lydia

Erté costume design of a nearly nude woman in a butterfly and many-eyed black red and purple ensemble

Erté, Lydia. Another nude with eyes on the crotch, but this time with an insect theme.

Les perroquets verts

Erté cabaret costume of a woman in green and red with parrot figures perched on her hands

Erté, Les perroquets verts. Green parrots. No eyes on the crotch.

Grand ara bleu et jaune

Erté cabaret costume of a woman in brilliant blue and yellow holding two blue-and-yellow macaws

Erté, Grand ara bleu et jaune. Blue-and-yellow macaws.

La Nouvelle Angleterre

Erté illustration of a nude woman wearing a red and ermine royal mantle decorated with a lion and unicorn

Erté, La Nouvelle Angleterre, 1952 (“New England”). The nude figure is delicate, but the mantle around her is huge and heraldic, guarded by a lion and a unicorn. It makes her look vulnerable and sovereign at the same time. Erotic in a classy and medieval way, but with a futuristic feel to it.

Maskenball Veneziani

Erté Venetian masquerade costume with a blue triple-pointed hat and white gown draped in golden stars

Erté, Maskenball Veneziani. A Venetian masquerade costume that makes me think of a fairy tale or tarot card. I love looking at how different artists render sheer fabrics. Erté did a nice job of it.

L’Ange (1943)

Erté costume design of a towering blue angel formed from candles and veils against a black background

Erté, L’Ange, 1943 (“The Angel”). A costume design for the Parisian music hall Bal Tabarin. Fewer breasts than usual. Indeed, the body almost disappears inside a vertical architecture of blue candles, feathers, and veils.

Balthasar (1919)

Erté costume design for Balthasar in an orange patterned cloak with a towering crown and long braided beard

Erté, Balthasar, 1919. One of Erté’s theatrical costume designs: a biblical king reduced to a few immense shapes. I love how heavy the black is. It looks like he’s about to be swallowed by the void.

Les souris

Erté costume design of a woman in a jeweled mouse costume with pink feathers and her fingers caught in a mousetrap

Erté, Les souris (“The Mice”). Very much a pin-up illustration, and yet she appears to have gotten her hand caught in a mousetrap while trying to reach for pearls? I’m not quite sure what’s going on here. I like it, though.

Ce n’est que votre main, Madame

Erté fashion design of two red-haired women in long black gloves that transform into sweeping black skirts

Erté, Ce n’est que votre main, Madame. The title means “It is only your hand, Madame.” They wear skirts made of gloves, as if they’re being groped. And yet, somehow, it still feels glamorous. I wonder if this is how guys like Weinstein imagined themselves—as glamorous gropers.

Une étoile de Hollywood

Erté illustration of a slender Hollywood star in a pleated bronze gown with wing-like sleeves
Erté illustration of a tall woman in a pleated bronze Hollywood gown with wide cape-like sleeves
Erté illustration of a Hollywood star named Pamela in a dark gold pleated gown with horn-like head ornaments

Erté, Une étoile de Hollywood, I, II, and III. A star of Hollywood. Makes me think of brown clamshells with thong sandals, but that can’t be right. Has the vibe of an epic Wagner opera, with horned vikings and valkyries.

Le cinéma cochon

Surreal Erté costume with a red many-eyed headdress and a black and silver skirt resembling strips of film

Erté, Le cinéma cochon. An elegant costume built from strips of film, but the film is about a pig.

L’Oubliée

Erté illustration of a pale red-haired flapper in a jeweled gray and white cape gown

Erté, L’Oubliée (“The Forgotten Woman”). A pale, solitary figure wrapped in a jeweled gray-and-white cape. The title gives the image its melancholy: she is the woman everyone has forgotten.

Le roi de Lahore (1919)

Erté costume design for the King of Lahore in elaborate purple red and black robes with pearls and a curved sword

Erté, Le roi de Lahore, 1919. A theatrical design for the King of Lahore. I love the red gemstones on his rings and hat.

Mistinguett (1917)

Erté costume design for Mistinguett in a blue jeweled outfit with a great radiating golden headdress

Erté, Mistinguett, 1917. A costume design for Mistinguett, the great French music-hall star. Strange haircut. Very punk. Makes me think of Ethan Suplee in The Butterfly Effect.

Final Chorus for Collection de Minuit

Erté cabaret costume with a towering blue feathered headdress and blue jeweled cape over a gold dress

Erté, Final Chorus for Collection de Minuit. Collection de Minuit means “Midnight Collection.” A finale costume for Collection de Minuit. Makes me think of a peacock. A lot of these designs make me think of peacocks.

Cheveux noirs

Erté costume design of a nude woman whose immense black hair forms sleeves and a long train

Erté, Cheveux noirs. Black hair. And her black hair is the entire costume. She’s completely nude, with a big curly bush on her crotch. And yet, somehow, she still feels sophisticated.

Collection de Minuit Boy

Erté cabaret costume of a slender figure in blue and white with looping silver sleeves and a spiral headdress

Erté, Collection de Minuit Boy. Collection de Minuit means “Midnight Collection.” A male counterpart from Collection de Minuit. Strange bodysuit, but it flows nicely.

Les chaines

Erté cabaret design of a bare-breasted woman adorned with silver chains and a tiny metallic skirt

Erté, Les chaines (“The Chains”). The woman is chained naked, with arms forced wide, exposing her breasts. It should feel raunchy, but it doesn’t really.

Décor: La Reine Margot

Erté stage design with blue curtains a black and white checkerboard floor and a descending ladder

Erté, Décor: La Reine Margot (“Set: Queen Margot”). A stage design rather than a costume. I love the heavy black, the rich blue, and the checkered floor. Comes together well.

Myla

Erté fashion illustration of an extremely slender woman in a bright blue gown with black gloves

Erté, Myla. I almost didn’t include this one. A little dull compared to the others. But it’s interesting to see how he simplified the folds of the fabric.

Les Écossais

Erté fashion design of a Scottish woman in a tiny tartan kilt red blouse and white plaid boots

Erté, Les Écossais (“The Scots”). Erté, Les Écossais. Makes me think of a Scottish warrior mixed with a royal schoolgirl.

L’Esclave porteuse d’éventail (1919)

Erté 1919 costume design of a fan-bearing enslaved attendant in black orange and gold robes

Erté, L’Esclave porteuse d’éventail, 1919. A theatrical design for a fan-bearing enslaved attendant. Reminds me of Yoshitaka Amano’s Final Fantasy concept art.

Les jeux

Erté Mah-Jongg costume of a bare-chested woman in red black and gold with a horned firework headdress

Erté, Les jeux (“The Games”). A Mah-Jongg-inspired costume.

Le Carnet de Bal

Erté costume design of a masked woman carrying a giant dance card listing the polka waltz and cancan

Erté, Le Carnet de Bal (“The Dance Card”). This one makes me think of those sinister parties in Eyes Wide Shut.

Le poker

Erté costume design of a queen draped in white playing-card fabric with red and black suits

Erté, Le poker. Playing cards become a queenly white mantle, with the red and black suits doing the work of jewels and heraldry.

Chanteur for Raspoutine

Erté male singer costume for Raspoutine with a plunging white leotard black trim cape and tassel

Erté, Chanteur for Raspoutine. A male singer’s costume for Raspoutine. An unusual amount of clothing for Erté.

L’Aurore boréale

Erté illustration of a nude woman almost swallowed by a gray orange and black aurora-like mantle

Erté, L’Aurore boréale (“The Northern Lights”). I think this is supposed to be grand and celestial, but it makes me think of a moth.

La dionée dite gobe-mouches

Erté Venus flytrap costume of a woman enveloped in black and red wing-like lobes crossed by vein patterns

Erté, La dionée dite gobe-mouches. A Venus flytrap becomes a black-and-red costume. I find this one disturbing in a good way, with a similar vibe to the celestial moth.

Eunuque

Erté costume design for a eunuch in a towering black and white headdress and orange blue and black robes

Erté, Eunuque. A costume for a eunuch. With a phallic headdress, maybe? I’m not sure. This is another of the ones that make me think of Yoshitaka Amano’s Final Fantasy work.

L’ange et le feu (1958)

Three Gothic stage designs by Erté showing an angelic shadow a blue moonlit chamber and a red firelit hall

Erté, L’ange et le feu (“The Angel and the Fire”), 1958. A trio of set designs made for a 1958 production of Pelléas et Mélisande. I love that last one. Cool perspective.

Symphony in Black (1920s)

Erté’s Symphony in Black showing a very tall slender woman in black walking a thin black dog

Erté, Symphony in Black, 1920s. This is Erté’s most famous illustration. It’s one of the more famous Art Deco illustrations. It isn’t a favourite of mine.

Erté and Yoshitaka Amano

I mentioned that Erté reminds me of Yoshitaka Amano, the Japanese illustrator and character designer known for his Final Fantasy art. Here’s what I mean. This is what Amano’s art looks like:

Yoshitaka Amano character art of Gogo from Final Fantasy VI in elaborate brightly coloured layered robes
Yoshitaka Amano character art of Shadow from Final Fantasy VI in a dark masked costume

Léon Bakst had a similar style, too:

Léon Bakst art that reminds me of Yoshitaka Amano
Juan Artola Miranda

I am Juan Artola Miranda, a fabulist living in the Mexican Caribbean. My friends know me by the name of my father's father, but that name grew into something bigger, my writing reaching tens of millions of readers. It was too strong for me to control. Artola Miranda is the name of my mother's mother. It's a better name for a fabulist.