Set design for La Chauve-Souris: 'Song of the Black Hussars'

Details

Mstislav Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957)
Set design for La Chauve-Souris: 'Song of the Black Hussars'
signed twice 'M.Dobuzhinsky/M.Dobuzhinsky' (lower right) and further signed with monogram and dated '1928' (lower left)
pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper
16¼ x 20 1/8 in. (41.3 x 51 cm.)

Provenance

Countess Alexandra Tolstoy (1884-1979) (inscription on the reverse).
A gift from the above to 'Doyle' during the White Russian Ball, Washington, D.C., 1947 (inscription on the backing paper).

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

Between 1926 and 1928 Msitslav Dobuzhinsky collaborated with Nikita Balieff’s (c.1877-1936) cabaret-theatre La Chauve-Souris in Paris, creating set and costume designs for the revue.
The present work depicts the Song of the Black Hussars, with music by Alexander Arkhangelsky (1846-1924). Performed at the Apollo theatre in Paris in 1928, this was one of the more popular tableaux presented by the troupe.

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