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Studio of Lev Samoilovich Bakst(Leon Bakst) (Russian, 1866-1924)'Soeur de Cléopâtre: Première ballerine' from Cléopâtre, 1909 unframed
£3,000 - £4,000
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Find your local specialistStudio of Lev Samoilovich Bakst (Leon Bakst) (Russian, 1866-1924)
pencil, watercolour and gold paint on card; verso of board with partially obscured Italian manufacturer's label and applied with extensive manuscript description of costume written and signed by Bakst
30.7 x 20.5cm (12 1/16 x 8 1/16in).
unframed
Footnotes
The offered lot is a drawing made by an assistant of Bakst from an original design by him for the costumier. The manuscript notes applied to the verso of the drawing are particularly interesting because they are in Bakst's own hand and signed by him with his initials. They reveal the extraordinary detail of the instructions for the costumier which took into consideration the way in which a costume would need to be adapted for the vigorous choreography of Diaghilev's productions: 'Boucles d'oreilles sur de longs corailles (si celà ferà [sic] mal pendant la danse violente remplacer par un ruban [de] couleur avec application d'etoffe brodée d'or mat.' ['The earrings: to be made from long bits of coral (if this hurts during the violent dancing, replace with coloured ribbon made with fabric embroidered with matt gold)'].

