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LÈon Bakst (Lev Samoilovich Rosenberg), artist
Russian, 1866 - 1924
Costume design for the Queen in the prologue of the drama La Pisanella ou la morte parfumÈe (Pisanella or The Perfumed Death), 1913
Graphite, watercolor, and gold paint on laid paper
35.7 x 24.8 cm (sheet)
Theater and Dance Collection, gift of Mrs. Adolph B. Spreckels T&D1962.41

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Artist Biography: Born Lev Samoilovich Rosenberg. Student at the Academy of St. Petersburg. Began calling himself LÈon Bakst (mother*s maiden name), in the late 1890s. Established himself in Moscow and adhered to the Russian academic tradition, taking his subjects from popular life. However, little by little he began to stray from the traditional, profoundly influenced by modern French art. A proponent of the new style in Russia, he founded the group "Mir Iskousstva" ("Artistic World"), but soon left Moscow and St. Petersburg for Paris (1893). Played a considerable role during the years preceding World War I as a costume decorator and designer for the famous Russian ballets directed by Serge de Diaghileff. A bold colorist, possessing a heightened sense of an art in service to rhythm and subject to variations in lighting, Bakst realized a bold and pleasing fusion of the elements of Russian popular art and the values of modern French art, influenced notably by Aubrey Beardsley, as well as by Greek vase painting and the Fauvism of Henri Matisse. Established legal residence in Paris in 1912.

Related Keywords
Death Perfumed or parfumée morte ou Pisanella La drama of prologue in the for design Costume Spreckels B Adolph Mrs gift Asia Russia Drawing Entertainment Theater Literary Study Fashion Dance Music Art paper laid paint watercolor Graphite margin penciled directions robe white gold colored rose hair over veil crowned queen Regal sheet side right down written dressmaker instructions detailed crown cape gown long wearing arms crossed figure female standing Léon Bakst Lev Samoilovich Rosenberg Bakst~ Russian 3328201308190022 A013423 T&D1962.41 AFGA