Set Design (la Création du monde)

On October 25, 1923, the premiere of the ballet La Création du monde, performed by the Ballets Suédois, took place at the Théâtre des Chaps-Élysées. Léger created sets and costumes and Blaise Cendrars wrote the scenario. The music was written by Milhaud, whom Léger met for the first time through collaboration on the project. The ballet is inspired by African myths, and Léger studied African sculpture to develop ideas for his costumes.

The present work depicts the backdrop of the stage set, with three massive totemic idols set in a stylised landscape with massive, voluminous clouds in the background.