Choreographers seem to be a great inspiration at the moment for fashion designers, but, rather than looking at images of runway shows and fashion presentations inspired by dancers and ballets, those creative minds interested in other aspects of the performing arts such as costumes and sets, should head to Venice.
The first ever Italian exhibition entirely devoted to the art of Léon Bakst, the celebrated Ballets Russes set and costume designer, is indeed opening next week at Palazzo Cini (Campo San Vio, Dorsoduro 864; from 5th October to 19th November 2018).
Produced jointly by the Fondazione Cini Institute of Theatre and Opera and the Saint Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music, "Léon Bakst. Symbol of the Ballets Russes" features rare stage and costume designs from the Saint Petersburg Museum archives, plus programmes and items from the archive of choreographer Aurél M. Milloss, preserved at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
Born in Grodno in 1866, Bakst showed an interest in the visual arts from an early age: accepted to study at the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1883, he started working as illustrator for magazines and children's books and, in 1890, was introduced to Alexandre Benois.
In the decade that followed he travelled through Europe and, between 1893 and 1896, he lived in Paris where he studied at the Académie Julian with Jean-Léon Gérôme. Upon his return to Russia he became part of the Mir Iskusstva (The World of Art) group, with his friends Alexandre Benois and Sergei Diaghilev.
Bakst developed an interest for theatrical productions and began to design scenery in the early 1900s: he first worked for the Imperial theatres of Saint Petersburg and, in 1909, he went to Paris where he designed stage sets and costumes for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Bakst worked on these productions with his preferred costume maker, Madame Marie Muelle who provided him with the best quality fabrics, adding appliquéd or embroidered decorative elements to the costumes.
His designs brought innovation to the stage and to ballet, while his passion for fable-like oriental and exotic styles influenced the fashion designers of those times such as Paul Poiret.
The exhibition at Palazzo Cini starts with Bakst's early works for Le Coeur de la Marquise, choreographed by Marius Petipa (1902), and Greek tragedies Hippolytus (1902) and Oedipus at Colonus (1904). The core of the event though consists of Bakst's designs for the most famous Ballets Russes productions, including Cléopâtre with Anna Pavlova and Ida Rubinstein, and Daphnis et Chloé with choreography by Michel Fokine. The exhibition features designs, stage photographs and the costumes for these ballets, including the sensual "Queen of Egypt" costume made for Ida Rubinstein.
One section of the events includes works that revolve around the theme of colour, so materials relating to the decor and costumes for Carnaval (1910), L'Oiseau de Feu (1910), Narcisse (1911) and Le Dieu Bleu (1912), all choreographed by Fokine, who revolutionised steps and movements creating ballets full of emotions.
With music by Igor Stravinsky, L'Oiseau de Feu (1910) featured Tamara Karsavina and Vera Fokina in the parts of The Firebird and Princess Tsarevna. Bakst's costumes for them were inspired by traditional Russian art, but, for other ballets, the artist also borrowed from Greek classicism and reworked these inspirations through his personal vision.
The event at Palazzo Cini is not just about the Ballets Russes: when Bakst's influence started to wane and Diaghilev turned to other artists, Bakst worked on opera productions including Jules Massenet's Thaïs, Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, Charles Gounod's Faust and Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut. Bakst also collaborated with Italian decadent poet and writer Gabriele D'Annunzio, designing the sets for Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien, premièred at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, on 22 May 1911 with music by Claude Debussy.
Bakst's rich, sensual and decandent illustrations, the geometric patterns on the costumes (check out one of his trademarks - colourful zigzagging motifs), the visually striking chromatic combinations and juxtapositions of colours, were recreated in the costumes employing different techniques, from painting and dying to embroidery, beading, sequins, metal studs, braids, pearls and jewels.
Despite the legend saying that Madame Muelle employed for the costumes designed by Bakst a secret metal thread that never tarnished, not all the designs are in absolutely perfect conditions (the performers danced in these creations that were therefore ruined by sweat, damp and moisture). Yet, even a century later, they remain symbols of a new aesthetic, triumphs of Dionysian beauty and expressions of a revolutionary art still capable to enchant modern visitors and audiences from all over the world.
Image credits for this post
1. Léon Bakst, costume design for Narcisse, Ballets Russes, choreography by Michel Fokine, Paris, 1911. © St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music
2. Léon Bakst, costume design for Narcisse, Ballets Russes, choreography by Michel Fokine, Paris, 1911. © St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music
3. Léon Bakst, costume design for Narcisse, Ballets Russes, choreography by Michel Fokine, Paris, 1911. © St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music
4. Léon Bakst, Cleopatra costume design for Ida Rubinštejn. Cléopâtre, Ballets Russes, choreography by Michel Fokine, Paris, 1909. © St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music
5. Léon Bakst, costume design for Bayadère. Le Dieu Bleu, Ballets Russes, choreography by Michel Fokine, Paris, 1912. © St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music
6. Léon Bakst, costume design for St. Sébastien di Debussy, 1911.
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