Costume Design thumbnail 1
Costume Design thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 7, The Sheikha Amna Bint Mohammed Al Thani Gallery

Costume Design

ca. 1621 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is one of a group of 69 costume designs for the court ballets of Louis XIII, now in the V&A Theatre Collections. The designs, which date from 1615-1635, are from the workshop of Daniel Rabel (1578-1637), the artist responsible for creating costumes for the spectacular entertainments performed by and for the French court. The ballets were based on the social dances of the day, but this was social dance elevated to an elaborate art form which combined choreography with poetry, music, song and pageantry, and included elements of satire and burlesque. The ballets were enormously popular. Most were given at least three performances and all required a great amount of work from their creators and performers: the Ballet de Tancrède of 1619, which used elaborate stage machinery, is known to have had 30 rehearsals. Some professional dancers, actors and singers took part but the majority of the participants were members of the nobility. Many of these aristocratic amateurs were skilled performers, including the King, who adored dancing and devised some of the ballets himself.

The Ballet d'Apollon, also known as the Ballet du Roy, was first performed on 18 February 1621. The music was composed by Antoine Boësset and court poets René Bordier and Théophile de Viau contributed verses. In the course of the ballet the role of Apollo the Shepherd was danced by the King and his favourites; their names are written on the design: 'le Roy, Monsieur le Conte de Soissons, Monsieur le Grand Prieur et Monsieur de Luynes'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Watercolour, ink and pencil on paper
Brief description
Costume design for Apollo the Shepherd in the Ballet d'Apollon (Ballet du roy), performed by the Ballet de Cour of Louis XIII, 1621
Physical description
Costume design for Apollo the Shepherd. Full length male figure wearing a tunic and breeches decorated with leaf motifs ibn pink and grey-blue, a ruff, and a wide brimmed hat, carrying a shepherd's crook in his right hand.
Dimensions
  • Design height: 27cm (uneven lower edge)
  • Design width: 18.9cm
  • Including paper mount height: 41.6cm
  • Including paper mount width: 29cm
  • Including card mount height: 56.9cm
  • Including card mount width: 41.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
'193' (Identification number in pencil, above figure)
Gallery label
Costume design for Apollo the Shepherd About 1621 The Ballet of Apollo was commissioned by the Duc de Luynes, a powerful nobleman and favourite of Louis XIII. He used the ballet to promote his own political interests, dancing the role of the sun god himself while the king played a blacksmith. The part of Apollo the Shepherd was danced by several performers, including the king and the Duc de Luynes. France (Paris) By the workshop of Daniel Rabel Watercolour, ink and pencil Designed for the Ballet of Apollo, also known as The King’s Ballet(09.12.2015)
Credit line
Purchased with Art Fund support
Object history
One of a group of 69 costume designs for the court ballets of Louis XIII acquired from a collection of 188 designs discovered in a private library in Germany. The designs were bound in an album, apparently dating from the 1580s. Each design is numbered, indicating that the collection as originally constituted contained 239 items.
Summary
This is one of a group of 69 costume designs for the court ballets of Louis XIII, now in the V&A Theatre Collections. The designs, which date from 1615-1635, are from the workshop of Daniel Rabel (1578-1637), the artist responsible for creating costumes for the spectacular entertainments performed by and for the French court. The ballets were based on the social dances of the day, but this was social dance elevated to an elaborate art form which combined choreography with poetry, music, song and pageantry, and included elements of satire and burlesque. The ballets were enormously popular. Most were given at least three performances and all required a great amount of work from their creators and performers: the Ballet de Tancrède of 1619, which used elaborate stage machinery, is known to have had 30 rehearsals. Some professional dancers, actors and singers took part but the majority of the participants were members of the nobility. Many of these aristocratic amateurs were skilled performers, including the King, who adored dancing and devised some of the ballets himself.

The Ballet d'Apollon, also known as the Ballet du Roy, was first performed on 18 February 1621. The music was composed by Antoine Boësset and court poets René Bordier and Théophile de Viau contributed verses. In the course of the ballet the role of Apollo the Shepherd was danced by the King and his favourites; their names are written on the design: 'le Roy, Monsieur le Conte de Soissons, Monsieur le Grand Prieur et Monsieur de Luynes'.
Collection
Accession number
S.1162-1986

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Record createdMay 12, 2011
Record URL
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