Marcel Vértes

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Marcel Vértes also known under the Hungarian spelling Vertés or simply Vertes (born August 10, 1895 in Budapest , † October 31, 1961 in New York ) was a Hungarian graphic artist , painter , illustrator , set designer and Oscar winner .

Life

Vértes, actually a mechanic, came to Paris in 1925 and quickly made a name for himself as one of the most important artists on the scene, following in the footsteps of artists such as Jean-Louis Forain and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec . His art and his themes corresponded exactly to the zeitgeist of the "Roaring Twenties". One of his main focuses was erotic art, Parisian night and street life, female nudes and portraits and scenes from circus and cabaret. He preferred to paint and portray women from the brothels. Vertès on his first visit to such an establishment:

I had been living in Paris for a few months when I was asked to see a fat, rich, and respectable industrialist from Budapest who was visiting Paris with his wife. I should serve as a guide for him. As soon as he arrived, he asked me with a wink to "take him to a place" where one could have fun

Vértes didn't know any addresses, so he turned to a taxi driver, who sent him to a certain Madame Blanche in the rue de Chåteaudun .

We were asked to take a seat in soft armchairs and watch the "play". A rather disappointing spectacle. I started to get bored. Fortunately there was a more entertaining attraction: two small, petite girls with knee socks and bows in their hair. They had carefully folded their short pleated skirts and corsages and were loving each other. Charming. I tried to draw the two of them, but the light was bad.

The following day, Vértes returned to the brothel alone and asked the sous-maitresse whether it would be possible to see the two "children" again.

"Follow me, sir!" she told me and opened a door. The two women, about thirty years old, were waiting for customers in a rococo salon; one knitted and the other read the " Petit Parisien ". "Here my lord." Fortunately, I had already made some drawings of the two false minors the night before! These drawings were the beginning of the series for " Jeux du Demi-Jour " by Pierre Mac Orlan , which I illustrated with lithographs on behalf of the writer.

Francis Carco wrote about it:

These adorable lithographs, which Vertès dedicates to the brothels, enchant with their vicious, slightly disreputable atmosphere.

Fabienne Jamet , housekeeper at One Two Two , wrote of Vertès:

The painter Vértes often accompanied us on our nightly drinking tours. He was always bothering me and desperately wanted me to model him, but I had seen some pictures of his private pornographic collection on him. In these pictures he always portrayed beautifully grown, attractive women together with disgusting, fat-bellied old lustful newts, or he drew beautiful, petite boys who had sex with hideous old witches. I refused his request ... and today I regret it very much, because these paintings by Vertès are now fetching astronomical sums at Paris art auctions.

When the Second World War broke out , Vértes fled to the USA and continued his work in New York. After the end of the war, he moved back to Paris to continue working there in his familiar environment, but always commuted between the continents. Vértes illustrated books by well-known French writers and received commissions for costumes and sets in theater, ballet and film in Paris, London and New York. In 1952 he received two Academy Awards for the equipment for the film Moulin Rouge (directed by John Huston ) and was on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival in the year he died . Vértes died in New York in 1961.

painting

  • Vertes was responsible for the murals in the Cafe Carlyle in the Hotel Carlyle in Manhattan , New York City , which can be seen there since 2007 after restoration in their original splendor.
  • For the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli he created a screen with circus scenes.

Filmography

K: costume designer, P: production designer, S: set decorator

Sources and literature

  1. ↑ a b c d "The golden age of the brothel", Alphonse Boudard and Romi , Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich ISBN 3-453-05181-5 , p. 160 / Marcel Vertés and the false minors
  2. ^ Paris Eros - The Imaginary Erotikmuseum, Hans-Jürgen Döpp, Parkstone Press Ltd, New York, 2004 (German version), ISBN 1-85995-759-5 , p. 234
  3. ↑ Woman with obstinacy in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung from January 19, 2014, page 35

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Vértes, Marcel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vertes, Marcel; Vertés, Marcel (Hungarian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian graphic artist, painter, illustrator, set designer
DATE OF BIRTH August 10, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Budapest
DATE OF DEATH October 31, 1961
Place of death new York