Theatre Costume
Theatre Costume
circa 1911 (made)
circa 1911 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Dance costume, designed by Léon Bakst for a production of the ballet Narcisse and worn by Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) in the principal role, 1911.
Narcisse was a ‘mythological poem in one act’ telling the story of the love by Echo of the vain youth who became entranced by his own reflection and was transformed into a narcissus flower. This was the first of the Greek ballets created for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes its book sets and costumes were by Léon Bakst, choreography by Mikhail Fokine, musical score commissioned from Nicolas Tcherepnin. The ballet was first performed at Monte Carlo on 26 April 1911. The ballet was first seen in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 9 July 1912.
Photographs by Balogh showing Nijinsky in the costume appear in many books including Lincoln Kirstein, Nijinsky Dancing, 1975 and Nijinsky was sketched in the costume by Andre Marty, Robert Montenegro, Valentine Gross and others.
Narcisse was a ‘mythological poem in one act’ telling the story of the love by Echo of the vain youth who became entranced by his own reflection and was transformed into a narcissus flower. This was the first of the Greek ballets created for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes its book sets and costumes were by Léon Bakst, choreography by Mikhail Fokine, musical score commissioned from Nicolas Tcherepnin. The ballet was first performed at Monte Carlo on 26 April 1911. The ballet was first seen in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 9 July 1912.
Photographs by Balogh showing Nijinsky in the costume appear in many books including Lincoln Kirstein, Nijinsky Dancing, 1975 and Nijinsky was sketched in the costume by Andre Marty, Robert Montenegro, Valentine Gross and others.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Theatre Costume (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Silk crepe costume, decorated with braid. Metal hook and eye fastenings, shaped with pleating and elastic. |
| Brief description | Dance costume, designed by Léon Bakst for a production of the ballet Narcisse and believed to have been worn by Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) in the principal role, 1911 |
| Physical description | Dance costume, designed by Léon Bakst for a production of the ballet Narcisse and worn by Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) in the principal role, 1911. Creamy white silk crepe knee-length Greek-style tunic open on the left but fastened with hooks and eyes on left shoulder and at the waist. The costume is trimmed with a metallic silver covered braid with two bands of three chords on the waist band and ‘collar’, and three more elaborate bands at the hem. The tunic has a very full skirt which hung deliberately unevenly and would have moved as Nijinsky danced. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Bequest from Mrs Betty Florence Honey |
| Object history | After the demise of the Ballets Russes this with other star costumes was retained by Serge Grigoriev, Regisseur of the company. It was sold by him in the Sotheby auction of 13 June1967 when it was purchased by Mrs Honey (bidding under the name of ‘Arnold’) for £120. Mrs Honey retained this costume until her death in 2011 when the costume was bequeathed to the V&A. Current value about £45,000 see RF 2011/641 |
| Literary reference | Narcisse |
| Summary | Dance costume, designed by Léon Bakst for a production of the ballet Narcisse and worn by Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) in the principal role, 1911. Narcisse was a ‘mythological poem in one act’ telling the story of the love by Echo of the vain youth who became entranced by his own reflection and was transformed into a narcissus flower. This was the first of the Greek ballets created for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes its book sets and costumes were by Léon Bakst, choreography by Mikhail Fokine, musical score commissioned from Nicolas Tcherepnin. The ballet was first performed at Monte Carlo on 26 April 1911. The ballet was first seen in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 9 July 1912. Photographs by Balogh showing Nijinsky in the costume appear in many books including Lincoln Kirstein, Nijinsky Dancing, 1975 and Nijinsky was sketched in the costume by Andre Marty, Robert Montenegro, Valentine Gross and others. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.705-2011 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | March 6, 2012 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
