Salome
Photograph
1908 (photographed)
1908 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Studio photograph by Boissonnas and Eggler (St. Petersburg) of Ida Rubinstein posed in costume for Salome.
Ida Rubinstein mounted a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome in a mimed, not spoken, production, and without a severed head, intended for the Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg, on 3 (16) November 1908 as a charity performance in aid of the Russian Theatrical Society. It was directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold; music was by Alexander Glazounov and designs by Léon Bakst. The performance was forbidden by the censor and cancelled. The Dance of the Seven Veils was performed in a concert of ballet and dance at the Theatre of the Conservatoire on 20 December (2 January 1909).
Mikhail Fokine was invited to choreograph the Dance of the Seven Veils and Rubinstein followed him on his vacation to Switzerland to work with him: “The work on the Salome dance was unique in my life. I had to teach Rubinstein simultaneously the art of dance and to create for her the Dance of Salome. Before this, she had studied dancing very little, and showed very little progress in it. Her energy and endurance were of great assistance, as was her appearance. I felt that it would be possible to do something unusual with her in the style of Botticelli. She was tall, thin, and beautiful, and was interesting material from which I had hopes of moulding a unique scenic image.’ For Fokine this work paved the way for the roles he created for Rubinstein in Cléopâtre (1909) and Schéhérazade (1910).
The design for Bakst’s costume is in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
Ida Rubinstein mounted a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome in a mimed, not spoken, production, and without a severed head, intended for the Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg, on 3 (16) November 1908 as a charity performance in aid of the Russian Theatrical Society. It was directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold; music was by Alexander Glazounov and designs by Léon Bakst. The performance was forbidden by the censor and cancelled. The Dance of the Seven Veils was performed in a concert of ballet and dance at the Theatre of the Conservatoire on 20 December (2 January 1909).
Mikhail Fokine was invited to choreograph the Dance of the Seven Veils and Rubinstein followed him on his vacation to Switzerland to work with him: “The work on the Salome dance was unique in my life. I had to teach Rubinstein simultaneously the art of dance and to create for her the Dance of Salome. Before this, she had studied dancing very little, and showed very little progress in it. Her energy and endurance were of great assistance, as was her appearance. I felt that it would be possible to do something unusual with her in the style of Botticelli. She was tall, thin, and beautiful, and was interesting material from which I had hopes of moulding a unique scenic image.’ For Fokine this work paved the way for the roles he created for Rubinstein in Cléopâtre (1909) and Schéhérazade (1910).
The design for Bakst’s costume is in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Salome (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Photograph on card mount |
| Brief description | Studio photograph of Ida Rubinstein in costume designed by Léon Bakst for Salome, 1908 |
| Physical description | One of a series of photographs of Ida Rubinstein in Salome, 1908, showing the dancer kneeling and leaning forward. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Boissonnas et Eggler, Nevsky 24, St Petersburg'
(Details of photographer embossed on the mount and stamped on the reverse) |
| Gallery label | |
| Credit line | Gabrielle Enthoven Collection |
| Summary | Studio photograph by Boissonnas and Eggler (St. Petersburg) of Ida Rubinstein posed in costume for Salome. Ida Rubinstein mounted a production of Oscar Wilde’s Salome in a mimed, not spoken, production, and without a severed head, intended for the Mikhailovsky Theatre, St Petersburg, on 3 (16) November 1908 as a charity performance in aid of the Russian Theatrical Society. It was directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold; music was by Alexander Glazounov and designs by Léon Bakst. The performance was forbidden by the censor and cancelled. The Dance of the Seven Veils was performed in a concert of ballet and dance at the Theatre of the Conservatoire on 20 December (2 January 1909). Mikhail Fokine was invited to choreograph the Dance of the Seven Veils and Rubinstein followed him on his vacation to Switzerland to work with him: “The work on the Salome dance was unique in my life. I had to teach Rubinstein simultaneously the art of dance and to create for her the Dance of Salome. Before this, she had studied dancing very little, and showed very little progress in it. Her energy and endurance were of great assistance, as was her appearance. I felt that it would be possible to do something unusual with her in the style of Botticelli. She was tall, thin, and beautiful, and was interesting material from which I had hopes of moulding a unique scenic image.’ For Fokine this work paved the way for the roles he created for Rubinstein in Cléopâtre (1909) and Schéhérazade (1910). The design for Bakst’s costume is in the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.3-2021 |
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| Record created | January 12, 2021 |
| Record URL |
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