Lulù by Beatrice Brandini
Illustration by Léon Bakst
Watching the beautiful series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld (available on Disney+), Karl’s words about the genius of Léon Bakst came to mind, that is, how much this extraordinary and eclectic artist influenced and conditioned 20th-century design.
Sketches by Léon Bakst
His costumes for the Ballets Russes, a happy marriage of dance, music, choreography and design, in which futurism, cubism and surrealism merged together, scandalizing and exciting an audience that was initially French, but then the whole world.
Sketch by Léon Bakst
Léon Bakst (1866 – 1924) was a painter, set designer, illustrator and of course costume designer. Having arrived in Paris together with Sergej Djaghilev, a revolutionary impresario, they founded, also with Alexandre Benois, the magazine Mir iskusstva where he published his first graphic works. In the early 1900s he began working as a set and costume designer for the imperial theaters of St. Petersburg, a collaboration, that with the Ballets Russes, which would characterize much of his life.
Sketch by Léon Bakst
The first production of the company, called Ballets Russes, was a program with pieces from Russian operas and ballets, with Russian music and dancers. For this program Bakst designed the spectacular decorations and costumes for Cléopâtre in 1909, becoming the main set designer of the company.
Sketch by Léon Bakst
His costumes were Fantastic, a mix of oriental, gothic and classical reminiscences, to perfectly interpret movement, sound and color. His creations have been called “sketches in motion”, precisely because they were able to merge all the arts, making the theatrical costume an integral and significant part of the work itself.In his intense career he will collaborate with Gabrielle D’Annunzio for the staging of Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien, with music by Claude Debussy. But also with Jean Cocteau and many others.
Among the most beautiful theatrical creations we remember those for Cleopatra, Scheherazade, The Firebird and Narcissus.
Self-portrait by Léon Bakst
“In every color there are shades that sometimes express sincerity and chastity, sometimes sensuality and even brutality, sometimes pride, sometimes despair. It can be… transmitted to the audience… This is what I tried to do in Scheherazade. On the sad green I put blue, full of despair… There are solemn reds and reds that kill… An artist who knows how to take advantage of these properties is like an orchestra conductor…” – Leon Bakst.
Creations by Yves Saint Laurent inspired by the Ballets Russes
His creations, decidedly innovative for the time, also had a great influence on costume. Ladies all over Europe adopted turbans, wide trousers, hairstyles with colored wigs and feathers. And in more modern times, many designers and fashion houses have been inspired by his costumes (Fendi, Yves Saint Laurent, John Galliano, Max Mara…).
A creation by John Galliano and Max Mara for Resort collectio
Today, one hundred years after his death, we can only celebrate him, paying homage to a true artist who upset the aesthetics of the time and who continues to influence us.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice