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Based on the classic fairy tale La Belle au Bois Dormant by Charles Perrault (1628-1703), Sleeping Beauty was first presented in 1890 by Marius Petipa (1818-1910) for the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg. Famed for its lavish staging and Tchaikovsky’s soaring score, the original production of this magical ballet captured the imagination of Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929) and Léon Bakst, who first worked on a version for Anna Pavlova’s (1881-1931) company in New York in 1916.By 1921 Les Ballets Russes had revolutionised the stage, conquering theatres in Europe and America with the charismatic ring-master Diaghilev, perhaps the greatest impresario of all time, orchestrating the success to rapturous applause. Diaghilev’s decision to stage this more traditional ballet in 1921 was a shrewd move, designed to strengthen the company’s financial position with a long-running stint at the heart of London’s theatre-land. With the financial backing of Sir Oswald Stoll (1866-1942), the director of the Alhambra Theatre, Diaghilev asked Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) to re-orchestrate Tchaikovsky’s score, Nicholas Sergeyev (1876-1951) and Bronislava Nijinska (1891-1972) to revive Petipa’s choreography and Léon Bakst to design the sets and costumes, allowing a mere two months for production ahead of the planned premiere on 2 November 1921. Together with the costumiers Pierre Pitoeff (1885-1962), Grace Lovat Fraser (1889-1977), Miss Norman and Maison Muelle Rossignol, Bakst worked tirelessly on The Sleeping Princess, grumbling, 'I’ve had to make, with my own hands, more than 200 maquettes, costumes and sets, not to mention the accessories, the wigs, the shoes, the jewellery – at the Imperial Theatres they allocated a year and a half to staging a ballet’. In total Bakst designed some three hundred extravagant costumes and elaborate sets, heavily influenced by the Baroque theatre designs of Ferdinando Galli Bibiena (1656-1743) and the sophisticated and elegant work of Jean Bérain (1638-1711) and Louis-René Boquet (1717-1814).Every aspect of production was overseen by Diaghilev, who was adamant that the costumes were to be exact replicas of Bakst’s original sketches. No compromises were to be made – Bakst’s swirling, exotic motifs highlighted with gold and dotted with the suggestion of faux pearls and semi-precious stones were to be embroidered or appliquéd on to the finest of materials, not stencilled. The excessively lavish result was pure couture for the theatre.Under the guardianship of the same family for over forty years, this rare Collection of nine exquisite watercolours for The Sleeping Princess (lots 36-44) appears for the first time at auction in the year marking the 150th anniversary of Bakst’s birth. In addition to iconic designs for characters including The Wolf (lot 38) and Prince Charming (lot 42); there is also Bakst’s design for the theatre curtain itself (lot 37), illustrating his skill at investing drapery with what Charles Spencer (1921-2010) later referred to as ‘the sensuous appeal of flesh’. Bakst’s audacious use of colour, recalling his highly popular fashion silk prints, is evident throughout, with one intense tone melting harmoniously, yet unexpectedly, into another. In viewing, one can only imagine the visual spectacle of the 1921 production, driven by Diaghilev’s enormous ambition and realised by the creative genius of Bakst. Closing in February 1922, The Sleeping Princess had 105 performances making it one of the longest-running ballets ever performed in the West End. The opulence of the production was at an enormous personal and financial cost to Diaghilev, irreparably damaging his relationship with Bakst and leaving him and his company in severe debt. Their landmark production has endured, however; Bakst’s designs most recently influencing the American Ballet Theatre’s 2015 production of Sleeping Beauty in New York, reconfirming his artistic tour de force.PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION, MILAN
Léon Bakst (1866-1924)
Costume design for 'La Belle au Bois Dormant': Baronne
細節
Léon Bakst (1866-1924)
Costume design for 'La Belle au Bois Dormant': Baronne
signed and dated 'Bakst/21' (lower left); with inscription '"Sleepping Princess/III acte' (upper left)
pencil and watercolour, heightened with white, silver and gold, on paper
11½ x 8¾ in. (29.3 x 22.3 cm.)
Executed in 1921
Costume design for 'La Belle au Bois Dormant': Baronne
signed and dated 'Bakst/21' (lower left); with inscription '"Sleepping Princess/III acte' (upper left)
pencil and watercolour, heightened with white, silver and gold, on paper
11½ x 8¾ in. (29.3 x 22.3 cm.)
Executed in 1921
來源
Acquired by the mother of the present owner from Galleria del Levante, Milan, in the late 1970s.
出版
Exhibition catalogue, Léon Bakst, Milan, 1967, listed p. [17], no. 57.
Exhibition catalogue, G. Veronesi, Decimo festival dei due mondi. Leon Bakst, Spoleto, 1967, listed p. [17], no. 57.
Exhibition catalogue, Ballet in beeld bij Bakst, The Hague, 1968, listed no. 47.
Exhibition catalogue, Les Ballet Russes de Serge de Diaghilev 1909-1929, Strasbourg, 1969, listed p. 183, no. 333.
Exhibition catalogue, Bakst, London, 1973, listed p. [25], no. 93.
Exhibition catalogue, G. Veronesi, Decimo festival dei due mondi. Leon Bakst, Spoleto, 1967, listed p. [17], no. 57.
Exhibition catalogue, Ballet in beeld bij Bakst, The Hague, 1968, listed no. 47.
Exhibition catalogue, Les Ballet Russes de Serge de Diaghilev 1909-1929, Strasbourg, 1969, listed p. 183, no. 333.
Exhibition catalogue, Bakst, London, 1973, listed p. [25], no. 93.
展覽
Milan, Rome and Munich, Galleria del Levante, Léon Bakst, May-November 1967, no. 57 (inscription and label on the backboard).
Spoleto, Palazzo Ancaiani, Decimo festival dei due mondi. Leon Bakst, 3-20 July 1967, no. 57 (inscription and label on the backboard).
The Hague, Haags Gemeentemuseum, Ballet in beeld bij Bakst, 17 January-3 March 1968, no. 47.
Strasbourg, L’ancienne douane, Les Ballet Russes de Serge de Diaghilev 1909-1929, 15 May-15 September 1969, no. 333 (label on the backboard).
London, The Fine Art Society, Bakst, 3 December 1973-4 January 1974, no. 93.
Sheffield, Sheffield City Art Galleries, Diaghilev Ballet Costumes, 10 June-18 August 1974, no. 41 (label on the backboard).
Spoleto, Palazzo Ancaiani, Decimo festival dei due mondi. Leon Bakst, 3-20 July 1967, no. 57 (inscription and label on the backboard).
The Hague, Haags Gemeentemuseum, Ballet in beeld bij Bakst, 17 January-3 March 1968, no. 47.
Strasbourg, L’ancienne douane, Les Ballet Russes de Serge de Diaghilev 1909-1929, 15 May-15 September 1969, no. 333 (label on the backboard).
London, The Fine Art Society, Bakst, 3 December 1973-4 January 1974, no. 93.
Sheffield, Sheffield City Art Galleries, Diaghilev Ballet Costumes, 10 June-18 August 1974, no. 41 (label on the backboard).
榮譽呈獻
Aleksandra Babenko