Summer Breeze 

Erte’s “Summer Breeze” presents us with a woman caught in a gust of wind, against an azure sky. Born in Russia, Erte, or Romain de Tirtoff, became a prominent figure in the Art Deco movement, and he's celebrated for his designs that epitomized the era’s elegance and theatricality. This image encapsulates the anxieties and desires of the interwar years when traditional roles were questioned and new forms of expression were embraced. The woman, teetering on the edge of a cliff, is swept up in the wind; her elaborate gown and elongated hair rendered with meticulous detail, and her pallid skin speaks to the artifice of beauty and the constraints placed upon women. Yet there's also a sense of liberation. The wind, a symbol of change and disruption, challenges the static order. The choice to depict a fair skinned woman references the exclusive beauty standards that defined the period. While superficially glamorous, “Summer Breeze” hints at the turbulent cultural shifts of the time, reflecting the tension between freedom and confinement, artifice, and nature.