Debutante 

Erté, who worked across fashion and set design, created this gouache painting, "Debutante", most likely in the 1920s or 30s. The image foregrounds the stark contrast between the debutante in white and the chaperone in black, suggesting an old-world European sensibility regarding gender roles and social position. The debutante, adorned with butterflies, stands in the foreground; her frivolousness is in tension with the dark chaperone behind her. The background, a stylized garden, evokes a sense of aristocratic leisure. The influence of Art Deco is palpable in the painting's bold lines and simplified forms, but it also evokes the aesthetic of the Ballets Russes, for which Erté also designed costumes. The "Debutante" might well reflect the interwar period's shifting social mores and evolving gender dynamics, yet it does not comment on them. For a deeper understanding of this painting, one might research the art of fashion illustration, the cultural history of the debutante, and the traditions of aristocratic portraiture. Erté's piece is a testament to the ways that art can be both a reflection of and a commentary on the social structures of its time.