Costume Design
ca.1911 (drawn)
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| Place of origin |
Petrouchka is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. It was Stravinsky's second ballet for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and used a story of traditional street puppets, the Russian equivalent of Punch and Judy, who are brought to life by a showman. The first performance was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, in 1911.
Petrouchka was designer Alexandre Benois' most important production. The ballet was frequently revived and between 1911 and 1957 Benois redrew the sets and costumes for 14 different productions. As his designs are similar in style they can be difficult to date, especially as Benois would annotate later designs with the names of the dancers who created the roles and would sometimes date them to 1911. The majority of his original drawings were annotated and signed in Russian. The notes on this design are written in French, which suggests that it is for a later production of the ballet.
Petrouchka was designer Alexandre Benois' most important production. The ballet was frequently revived and between 1911 and 1957 Benois redrew the sets and costumes for 14 different productions. As his designs are similar in style they can be difficult to date, especially as Benois would annotate later designs with the names of the dancers who created the roles and would sometimes date them to 1911. The majority of his original drawings were annotated and signed in Russian. The notes on this design are written in French, which suggests that it is for a later production of the ballet.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil and watercolour on paper |
| Brief description | Costume design by Alexandre Benois for four 'enfants Aristocratiques' in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Petrouchka, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, ca.1911 |
| Physical description | Costume design by Alexandre Benois for four 'enfants Aristocratiques' in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Petrouchka, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, ca.1911. Full length figures of four boys wearing, from left, a fur trimmed jerkin over a dull pink shirt, baggy black knee breeches, a fur trimmed hat and black boots; a dark grey coat over dull yellow trousers, a white scarf and a top hat; a blue tunic over a white wide sleeved shirt, baggy blue knee breeches and a blue cap; a dark grey fur trimmed jacket over a russet shirt, pink-grey trousers, and a light green hat with a black upturned brim. The design is annotated in pencil with notes of material written in French . |
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| Summary | Petrouchka is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. It was Stravinsky's second ballet for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and used a story of traditional street puppets, the Russian equivalent of Punch and Judy, who are brought to life by a showman. The first performance was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, in 1911. Petrouchka was designer Alexandre Benois' most important production. The ballet was frequently revived and between 1911 and 1957 Benois redrew the sets and costumes for 14 different productions. As his designs are similar in style they can be difficult to date, especially as Benois would annotate later designs with the names of the dancers who created the roles and would sometimes date them to 1911. The majority of his original drawings were annotated and signed in Russian. The notes on this design are written in French, which suggests that it is for a later production of the ballet. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.76-1936 |
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| Record created | April 27, 2010 |
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