Artist: Romain Erte
Title: Mary Garden
Size: 41 x 30 Inches
Medium: Serigraph
Edition: of 300
Year: 1987
Notes: Hand Signed and numbered in Pencil. Very Good Condition. Gallery COA Included. Custom Framed.
About: Erte's Mary Garden was originally designed as a costume for American opera singer Mary Garden in her role as Fiora in L’Amore dei Tre Re (1926). Often called “the Sarah Bernhardt of opera,” Garden was celebrated for her exceptional acting and nuanced vocal performances, which brought depth and emotion to her characters.
L’Amore dei Tre Re is a three-act opera by Italo Montemezzi, set in Dark Ages Italy. The story follows Fiora, an Alturan princess married to Manfredo, the son of Archibaldo, a blind king who conquered Altura decades earlier. Unfaithful to her husband, Fiora carries on a secret affair with her true love, Avito, another Alturan prince. Archibaldo suspects her infidelity but lacks proof until, in a fit of rage, he strangles her.
Fiora’s body is placed in a crypt, where Archibaldo poisons her lips to expose her lover. Avito kisses her and dies, confessing the affair to Manfredo. Stricken with grief, Manfredo also kisses Fiora and succumbs to the poison. When Archibaldo arrives, he is devastated to discover his own son has fallen victim to his scheme.