Venus 

Here we see a print of Venus by Erte, an artist who worked across fashion, film and theatre design. This print is in the Art Deco style, which began in France in the years before the First World War, but flowered especially in the 1920s and 30s. It’s a highly stylized image, referencing Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance painting, The Birth of Venus, but it’s filtered through the new visual language of graphic design and modern advertising. This was the age of mass media when fine art concepts were being reworked for a wider public. Erte’s career was shaped by his work for magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, and he was fascinated by the image of the modern woman. Prints like these were bought by those who wanted to keep up with the latest styles. If you want to explore the history of taste, then magazines like these are a wonderful resource, offering a snapshot of a particular time and place.