Bellydance Meets Art, ala Erté! ^_^

Another matter that’s been stickin’ in my head lately is the matter of bellydance + art.  If you follow many bellydance-friendly Tumblrs, you’ve probably seen a lot of Franz Mucha’s art.  (A man whose work, I must be honest, I hadn’t been too familiar with- in name- at first.  But after doing some research & surfing here, found that I knew TONS of his pieces- and just hadn’t known his art by name.)  Ahh.. that lush yet delicate Art Nouveau goodness!! ^_^

But ever since randomly, unwittingly getting a GIANT “coffee table book” of his in my late teens, I’ve been a HUGE fan of Erté’s.  And if you know his work at all, you’ll probably also notice a certain.. similarity between his art and Mucha’s styles (even if, like myself, you may not have known them specifically by name).  ..There’s something about their lyricism and their linear qualities.. their dramatically-posed, very “dancerly” work that makes one familiar w/both think inexorably of the other…

So after being Tumbled w/all this Mucha here, it’s occurred to me- “I wonder if Erté has any bellydance-related art..??”  ..And post a little research, I am happy to pronounce emphatically that the answer to this question is indeed; “yes!” :D

First off, here’s a superb page on Erté’s work; which deals directly with his influence on & relation to costuming in bellydance: http://www.neonissima.com/erte.html :)

And look!  His influence still persists to this day- on Etsy; in headwear form, no less!  (And very likely, elsewhere- but I haven’t checked to extensively- yet. ;))

It seems much of his work indeed could have been -very- applicable to bellydance and its various styles. ^_^  Lots of his work was exotic and romantic, and TONS of his pieces seem directly inspired by dance & dancers- of various cultures. :)  Don’t believe me?  Here, have some video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMkpl5_CvJ8&feature=player_embedded :D

Erté touched on mythology, world folklore, and many, many other subjects also tied into dance.  While he was typically spoken of as “a fashion designer,” he also worked in Hollywood on costumes, painted extensively, and did a whole lot more for various artistic mediums.  Clearly Erté was much more that “just” a fashion designer. :)