Costume of King Shahryar in Scheherazade by Ballets Russes
France, 1910
Costume design: Léon Bakst, 1910
Reconstruction: Rona Doron
Original tunic: printed and dyed cotton, silver fringe hem decoration
Reconstructed hat, vest and pants: silk velvet, ribbons, hand dyed cotton, hand dyed silk, ostrich feathers
Museum Collection
Must Know
The artist Léon Bakst (1866-1924) was born Lev Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Grodno, Belarus. His costume and set designs for the Ballets Russes were key to the success of this pioneering avant-garde modern ballet company. Bakst’s costume and set designs abandoned the accepted tradition of imitating reality in favor of the magical and fanciful, informed by archaeological findings and sketches made on his travels. His trip to Tunisia and Algeria in 1896 inspired his set design for the ballet Scheherazade (1910). This costume was made for the acclaimed dancer Vaslav Nijinsky, in the role of Shahryar, the legendary king of Samarkand.When he was a child, his family moved to St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg his grandfather, whom he greatly admired, owned a fashionable clothing store (and this is perhaps where Bakst’s love of costumes began). In 1883 Leyb was accepted to the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. After four years he left the conservative institution without graduating, a result of a scandal which occurred after his painting was displayed at a student work exhibition. In his painting he introduced Jesus, Maria and Christian saints as poor Jews from a remote town.
Bakst began to support himself through illustrating books and magazines and through painting portraits. he quickly became highly successful in this field. As a portrait painter he was able to strengthen his ties with the upper classes of society. In 1889 he began to sign his works under the name of Bakst (the family name of his grandmother was Baxter). The new name was more European sounding and less obviously Jewish.
The following year, Bakst met the famous artist Alexander Benois along with his circle of friends. The atmosphere of Benois’s circle of friends was characterized by resistance to the narrow and nationalist academy that dominated Russian art at the time. It was from this circle of friends that the ‘World of Art’ movement later developed. Bakst became one of the central figures in the movement. From 1912 he settled in Paris.
Bakst succeeded as a portrait painter (“Digilev’s Portrait with the Nanny”, “Aisdora Donko’s Portrait”) and as an illustrator for magazines (“Mir Iscoustava”, “Apollon”) but his greatest artistic success was in theatre. In 1902 he began working with the big theatres of St. Petersburg (“Oedipus in Clonus”, “Antigone”). From 1909 until 1921, he worked for the “Russian Ballet”, designing successful seasonal performances of opera and Russian ballet in Paris. Although the dancers, singers, choreographers and composers for Russian Ballet all worked hard, Bakst’s costumes and décor designs were among the key factors that led to success. For example, his designs for “Scheherazade” (1910) influenced the fashion of the era.
Bakst came out against the traditional imitations of reality which had prevailed in theatrical design until then. His designs are magical and fantastical, but at the same time are based on archaeological finds and drawings he made during his travels. His travels to Tunis and Algiers served as the backdrop the “Scheherazade”, “Shlomit” and others; his travels to Greece and Crete enabled him to be influenced by classical art and provided him with the inspiration to design the grand costumes for “Padre”, “Daphnis et Chloe”, “L’apres-midi d’un faune” and others. In the last two pieces, he influenced the choreography when he convinced them to base the movements of the dancers on movements which appear on ancient Greek ornaments.
More Info
In 1910 the Russian Ballet, under the management of Sergei Diaghilev, put on “Scheherazade”, one of the largest and most successful productions in the history of modern ballet. In this production, as in other productions of the Russian Ballet, the fruitful and intense collaboration of Leon Bakst, who designed the spectacular set and costumes, with the choreographer of the ballet, Michel Fokine, is reflected.
The ballet was based on the prologue for One Thousand and One Nights, a story about the betrayal of King Shahryar by his wives and concubines, and in particular by his favourite and most loved woman, Zubaidah. The King learned that the women were enjoying themselves with his servants, and so Shahryar decided to test them. he pretended to be going away on a long journey but returned without warning and thus caught the women betraying him. he instructed the guards to kill all the wives and their lovers. However, before he could cast Zubaidah’s verdict she committed suicide using the sword of one of the guards.
The costumes and sets designed by Leon Bakst for “Scheherazade” were considered to be both original and daring, from the materials used, to their strong colours and their sensuality. Even Bakst’s drawings are characterised by sensual and clean colours. His designs are often based on the contrast of cold and warm colours. For the set design, Bakst used an abundance of material, curtains, cushions and carpets – from soft, floating textiles, to rich, bold and sensual materials. The wooden stage on which the dancers performed was covered with material on which carpets were drawn. The harem was designed as a huge tent with shades of blue and green.
Equally as daring were the dancers’ costumes which both hid and exposed their bodies at the same time. The multicoloured costumes were full of colourful embroidery and gems.
The costumes for “Scheherazade”, like the costumes designed by Bakst for other ballet productions by the Russian Ballet, such as “Cleopatra”, and “L’apres-midi d’un faune”, were an integral part of the production’s expressive art. They empowered and enhanced the dancers’ movements, and matched the sensations evoked by the music.
Bakst carefully studied the movements of the dancers on stage. he chose the colours according to the interactions of the characters with the décor and with each other. Thus, he created colourful compositions in each and every scene.
In order to design the costumes, Bakst researched and copied Persian miniatures and ornamental models from Turkey and China; he may have also used drawings from his travels in North Africa which he sketched a few years earlier. he chose not to design historical clothing, and instead created fantastic costumes that combine his various sources of inspiration. The clothing also reflected the influence of the Fauvism artists whose works were exhibited in Paris during this time.
The newspaper reviews praised “Scheherazade” and lauded Bakst’s décor and costumes and his ability to design in such a manner that his work is not tied to the ballet or to himself, but rather stands as a masterpiece in its own right. Praise was also given by the Russian avant-garde composer Igor Stravinsky and artist Pablo Picasso. The show stunned the Parisians and influenced their fashion and furniture designs. Following the ballet performance, furniture, rugs, cushions and fabrics in Oriental designs, turban-styled hairstyles and other exotic items began to appear.
