Harper’s Bazaar, cover November 1933, Erté
Artist Erté illustrated this magazine cover in November 1933 for Haper's Bazaar Magazine. Erté, born in 1892, was a Russian artist who gained fame after moving to Paris in 1912. He worked with couturier Paul Poiret and became an Art Deco icon after a 22-year contract with Harper's Bazaar. In this design, Erté illustrated a glamorous-looking woman looking over her shoulder at a trail of men in tuxedo uniforms. He appeals to the Art Deco style of the time by featuring elongated, high-contrast letterforms, often associated with wealth, sophistication, and luxury. This aesthetic was frequently used throughout high-end fashion, entertainment, and commercial branding for usually jazz musicians of the “jazz age” in addition to luxury-oriented performers. This magazine cover is significant in the history of design. It shows the emergence of design styles within the Art Deco period and how these design choices were used to convey glamorous, exclusive, or high-society images.
