Léon Bakst (Hrodna, Belarus, 1866 - 1924, Paris, France)
Anna Pavlova in the Ballet 'Oriental Fantasy', 1913
Watercolor and shell gold over graphite on paper, 31.3 x 23.8 cm (12 5/16 x 9 3/8 in.)
This pencil and watercolor sketch shows the dancer Anna Pavlova in costume for the ballet. Pavlova has taken a pose and stands with her body facing the viewer, her medium-light skinned face turned to our left and slightly down, her left arm fully extended and her right arm bent and reaching behind her head. Her face is drawn in pencil and her eyes are closed. Pavlova holds one end of a red scarf with a yellow pattern in her left hand and reaches for the other end with her right hand. She wears a white scarf wrapped around her neck and up around her head in a turban with a red piece at the back and a spray of feather-like adornments in the front. Pavlova wears a fitted dress with skinny straps and a plunging neckline. From the straps and down over her breasts, the dress is red and white, then blue and white down to her waist. White fabric with red and yellow pattern fits tightly around her hips, and a blue skirt with white polka dots and patterned hemline flares out. Bloomers in the pattern of the red and yellow scarf emerge from under the skirt and down to the ankle. She wears white pointe shoes with ribbons around her ankles and strands of beads around her neck and left arm, with one strand dangling down to waist height. In the upper corner to our right is the inscription BALLET HINDOU POUR A. PAVLOVA. In the lower corner to our right is the inscription BAKST 1913 N6.
Short Gallery
Commentary
Signed lower right: Bakst / 1913; inscribed at upper right: Ballet Hindou / Pour A. Pavlova.
Born Lev Rosenberg to a middle-class Jewish family in Belarus, Léon Bakst studied art in St. Petersburg and Paris. His close collaboration with the dancer and choreographer Serge Diaghilev resulted in striking costumes and scenery for the Ballets Russes. Drawing on folk art, Middle Eastern, and Asian motifs, Bakst’s sensuous designs caused a sensation throughout Europe.
In 1911, the celebrated dancer and actress Ida Rubinstein (1885–1960) produced a ballet in Paris called Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien. With a book by Gabriele D’Annunzio, music by Claude Debussy, and choreography by Michel Fokine, the ballet was one of great triumphs of the period. The top drawing is a costume study for Rubinstein, who reportedly stunned Paris audiences with her poignant acting. The drawing below is a costume design for the equally celebrated ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881–1931) in the production of Oriental Fanstasy (also called Ballet Hindu), which opened in London in October 1913, and was performed later that same month in Boston.
Isabella Stewart Gardner’s passion for music and dance nearly equalled her interest in the visual arts. The avant-garde dancer Ruth St. Denis performed at Fenway Court in 1906, and these drawings present further evidence of Mrs. Gardner’s interest in performance. Both drawings were purchased in 1914 at a touring exhibition of Bakst’s drawings held at the Boston Art Club.
Source: Alan Chong, "Ida Rubinstein as Saint Sebastian, Anna Pavlova in the Ballet 'Oriental Fantasy,'" in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 122.
Born Lev Rosenberg to a middle-class Jewish family in Belarus, Léon Bakst studied art in St. Petersburg and Paris. His close collaboration with the dancer and choreographer Serge Diaghilev resulted in striking costumes and scenery for the Ballets Russes. Drawing on folk art, Middle Eastern, and Asian motifs, Bakst’s sensuous designs caused a sensation throughout Europe.
In 1911, the celebrated dancer and actress Ida Rubinstein (1885–1960) produced a ballet in Paris called Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien. With a book by Gabriele D’Annunzio, music by Claude Debussy, and choreography by Michel Fokine, the ballet was one of great triumphs of the period. The top drawing is a costume study for Rubinstein, who reportedly stunned Paris audiences with her poignant acting. The drawing below is a costume design for the equally celebrated ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881–1931) in the production of Oriental Fanstasy (also called Ballet Hindu), which opened in London in October 1913, and was performed later that same month in Boston.
Isabella Stewart Gardner’s passion for music and dance nearly equalled her interest in the visual arts. The avant-garde dancer Ruth St. Denis performed at Fenway Court in 1906, and these drawings present further evidence of Mrs. Gardner’s interest in performance. Both drawings were purchased in 1914 at a touring exhibition of Bakst’s drawings held at the Boston Art Club.
Source: Alan Chong, "Ida Rubinstein as Saint Sebastian, Anna Pavlova in the Ballet 'Oriental Fantasy,'" in Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 122.