Alison Chitty costume design
Costume Design
1983 (designed)
1983 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This costume design was produced by Alison Chitty for Ian McKellen as Pierre in Otway's play Venice Preserv'd at the Royal National Theatre in 1983. It is a superbly presented drawing, the figure standing on the paved floor against the base of a column, and executed in subtle tones of grey highlighted in gold and red. It is extremely unusual to find a design executed almost wholly in pencil, but it conveys exactly the right sense of time and place. The fabric samples show how the designer wanted the costume made; the coat in a heavy dull black suede, with the touches of red and the fine striped fabric. It is at once sombre and very masculine and the suede avoids the density of black, which can create a dead area when on stage.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Alison Chitty costume design (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Pencil, gouache, gold paint, with fabric samples |
| Brief description | Costume design by Alison Chitty for Ian McKellen as Pierre in Otway's play Venice Preserv'd at the Royal National Theatre in 1983. Pencil, gouache, wash and gold paint with fabric samples. |
| Physical description | Full length male figure standing on a paved floor against the base of a pillar. He wears an 18th century coat, drawn in pencil, with gold and red braiding down front, on cuffs and in the back pleats; the breeches fitting into knee-height torn-down boots; the waistcoat is of a grey (pencil) with a subtle gold all-over design. Around the waist is a sash in grey, gold and deep red. The right hand rests on a sword hilt. Around the neck is a white cloth. Attached upper left are fabric samples of black suede, red and blue striped silk and fine dark blue and white strip. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Pierre - Ian McKellen Note pencil, vertically up right hand side |
| Credit line | Given by Alison Chitty |
| Object history | The design was executed by Alison Chitty for Ian McKellen as Pierre in Otway's play Venice Preserv'd, produced at the Royal National Theatre, 1983. |
| Summary | This costume design was produced by Alison Chitty for Ian McKellen as Pierre in Otway's play Venice Preserv'd at the Royal National Theatre in 1983. It is a superbly presented drawing, the figure standing on the paved floor against the base of a column, and executed in subtle tones of grey highlighted in gold and red. It is extremely unusual to find a design executed almost wholly in pencil, but it conveys exactly the right sense of time and place. The fabric samples show how the designer wanted the costume made; the coat in a heavy dull black suede, with the touches of red and the fine striped fabric. It is at once sombre and very masculine and the suede avoids the density of black, which can create a dead area when on stage. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1407-1986 |
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| Record created | May 23, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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