Marcel Vertes
(1895 - 1961)
Hungarian illustrator, Marcel Vertes was born in Ujpest, near Budapest, Hungary. He studied to become an aviation engineer, but instead turned to drawing and painting. In the early 1920s, Vertes went to Paris, where he worked for the satirical magazine Rire, and for the Gazette Du Bon Ton.
Vertes was an outstanding painter, printmaker, illustrator and fashion designer. His work was characterized by its economical use of line and color. He moved to Paris during World War I, and established himself as one of the most important artistic figures of the 1920s; following the footsteps of Toulouse-Lautrec, Boutet, and Forain. His work consisted mainly of portrayals and scenes of Paris street life, women, the circus, and cabaret acts. Vertes went to school at the Academie Julian in Paris.
Vertes became popular in France since the mid 1920s particularly for his lithographs, and illustrations. One of the album of lithographs that brought him fame was the "Dancings." Among other works he illustrated are: Cherri Colette, L'Europe Galante, by Paul Morand, and Cirque by Ramon Gomez de la Serna. In 1933, Verte worked as production designer for the French film "Les Aventurers du Roi Pausole," also released as
Due to the impending World War II, Verte traveled to America where he lived and worked for some time. His reputation as a great artist got him work as a book illustrator and costume and set designer for films, theater and musicals. He worked briefly for Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar in New York before traveling to London to illustrate for Schiaparelli perfumes. The collaboration between Vertes and Schiaparelli was an inspired one. Verte's whimsical, and modern illustrations perfectly complimented Elsa Schiaparelli's avant-garde style and irreverent attitude.
Vertes painted the murals of Cafe Carlyle in the Rosewood Hotel, New York. He did advertisements for Perry Water, Arpege "Scandal Perfume," and the label for the 1951 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Verte worked as a costume designer for the Hollywood productions of "The Thief of Baghdad," (1940); "Lydia," (1941); and "Tonight and Every Night," (1945). In 1952, his fashion designs for John Hustons, "Moulin Rouge,"won him two Academy Awards. Vertes name shows up in the production credits as Color Production Designer and Costume Designer, along with Elsa Schiaparelli. They jointly won the British Academy Film Award for Best Costume Design.
After ten years in America, Vertes returns to Paris where he remained until his death in 1961. Verte's hallmarks were his light, graceful and witty watercolor sketches of high fashion and high society.
the "Merry Monarch,"and "Die Abenteurer des Konigs Pausole."
