Number 5 

This is Erte’s Number 5, part of his alphabet and number series. Born in Russia, Romain de Tirtoff who was known as Erte, found fame as a theatrical designer in Paris in the 1910s. Then, in 1915, he began a long and fruitful relationship with the American magazine, Harper’s Bazaar. He went on to design for Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and The Illustrated London News. Erte’s sinuous, graphic style became synonymous with the Art Deco era. He was fascinated by the aesthetics of the stage, in particular the exoticism of the Ballets Russes. The number 5 is no exception. It borrows heavily from the stylized aesthetic of stage design, fashion illustration, and the commercial world. Erte’s work sits comfortably within this cultural context. As historians, we would look to publications like Harper’s Bazaar to understand better the context that shaped this image. It helps us understand the meaning of art, as something which depends on its social and institutional background.