Leon Bakst's designs for Fokine's ballet Le Dieu Bleu were amongst his most elaborate but the ballet was old fashioned in its emphasis on design at the expense of dancing and was not a success. It received three performances in Paris in 1912 and three in London the following year, but was not revived. This design for a young Rajah, a minor character not individually named in the programmes, shows fantastic detail in the feathered turban, pearl decoration and stylised shoes.
Physical description
Costume design by Leon Bakst for the Young Rajah in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Dieu Bleu, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, 1912. Full length figure of a young man in a vivid yellow coat decorated all over with 'teardrop' motifs and edged with a broad white band trimmed with pearls. He has a turban, the front encrusted with pearls and decorated with an aigrette, and wears oriental slippers with curled toes.
Place of Origin
Europe (drawn)
Date
1911 (drawn)
Artist/maker
Bakst, Leon, born 1866 - died 1924 (costume designer)
Materials and Techniques
Pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper
Marks and inscriptions
"DIEU BLEU" / jeunes Rajas'
Annotated in pencil, upper right hand corner
'BAKST 1911'
Artist's signature in pencil, lower right hand corner.
Dimensions
Height: 28.5 cm, Width: 21 cm, Height: 57 cm frame, Width: 42 cm frame, Depth: 3 cm frame
Descriptive line
Costume design by Leon Bakst for the Young Rajah in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Dieu Bleu, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, 1912.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Shead, Richard, Ballets Russes. London: Apple Press, 1989, p.64.
pp.144-145
Schouvaloff, Alexander, Theatre on Paper, The Drawing Center, New York, 1990
no. 78
The Diaghilev Exhibition Catalogue, College of Art, Lauriston Place, 1954
no. 92
Buckle, Richard (ed.) The Diaghilev exhibition from the Edinburgh Festival, 1954, London : Forbes House, 1954
21
Carter, Huntley. Catalogue of an exhibition of drawings by Léon Bakst, London : Fine Art Society, 1912
31
Adgey Edgar, W.H. et al, Catalogue of a memorial exhibition of Russian ballet art. London : Clarige Gallery, 1930
5
An exhibition of ballet designs : from the collection of John Carr-Doughty, London : Arts Council of Great Britain, 1952
Materials
Pencil; Watercolour; Gouache; Paper
Techniques
Drawing (image-making)
Categories
Entertainment & Leisure; Designs
Collection
Theatre and Performance Collection
