Anna Pavlova in the Ballet 'Oriental Fantasy'
painter
Léon Bakst
(Hrodna, Belarus, 1866 - 1924, Paris, France)
Date1913
Place MadeRussia, Europe
MediumWatercolor and shell gold over graphite on paper
Dimensions31.3 x 23.8 cm (12 5/16 x 9 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession number3.1.o.92
eMuseum ID721684
Original Number2.1.o.9
EmbARK ObjectID10928
Previous NumberP17e86
TMS Source ID187
Last Updated10/3/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentarySigned 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.
BibliographyNotesMartin Birnbaum. Catalogue of an Exhibition of Original Works by Léon Bakst. Exh. cat. (Buffalo: Albright Art Gallery, 1913), p. 22, no. 150. (entitled "Hindoo Women")
Martin Birnbaum. Special Exhibition of the Work of Léon Bakst. Exh. cat. (Cincinnati: Cincinnati Museum of Art, 1914), p. 19, no. 150. (entitled "Hindoo Women")
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 22.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 129-30.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 10-11, ill.
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), p. 118-19, ill.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 122-23, ill.
Christine M. E. Guth. "Multisensorial Asia" in Alan Chong and Noriko Murai (eds.). Inventing Asia: American Perspectives Around 1900. Fenway Court, vol. 33 (Boston, 2014), p. 96-97, fig. 14.
Sharyn R. Udall. Dance and American Art: A Long Embrace (Madison, Wisconsin, 2012), pp. 135-36, fig. 81.
Martin Birnbaum. Special Exhibition of the Work of Léon Bakst. Exh. cat. (Cincinnati: Cincinnati Museum of Art, 1914), p. 19, no. 150. (entitled "Hindoo Women")
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 22.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 129-30.
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 10-11, ill.
Rollin van N. Hadley. Museums Discovered: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1981), p. 118-19, ill.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), pp. 122-23, ill.
Christine M. E. Guth. "Multisensorial Asia" in Alan Chong and Noriko Murai (eds.). Inventing Asia: American Perspectives Around 1900. Fenway Court, vol. 33 (Boston, 2014), p. 96-97, fig. 14.
Sharyn R. Udall. Dance and American Art: A Long Embrace (Madison, Wisconsin, 2012), pp. 135-36, fig. 81.
MarksNotesInscribed (upper right, in graphite): BALLET HINDOU / POUR A. PAVLOVA
Inscribed (lower right, in graphite): BAKST 1913
Inscribed (lower right, in graphite): N 6
Inscribed (label affixed to the glass): 150
Inscribed (label affixed to the glass): B.A.C.
Inscribed (label affixed to the mount, reverse): the Boston Art Club Exhibition label with the price, $250
Inscribed (label affixed to the mount, reverse): Berlin Photographic Co., 305 Madison Ave., N.Y.: No. 96. Artist: Reinhold Horberg. Title: Brother Tramps.
Watermark: Ingres
Inscribed (lower right, in graphite): BAKST 1913
Inscribed (lower right, in graphite): N 6
Inscribed (label affixed to the glass): 150
Inscribed (label affixed to the glass): B.A.C.
Inscribed (label affixed to the mount, reverse): the Boston Art Club Exhibition label with the price, $250
Inscribed (label affixed to the mount, reverse): Berlin Photographic Co., 305 Madison Ave., N.Y.: No. 96. Artist: Reinhold Horberg. Title: Brother Tramps.
Watermark: Ingres
ProvenanceNotesPresumably gift of the artist Léon Bakst (1866-1924) to the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlovna Pavlova (1881-1931).
Collection of Anna Pavlova in 1913.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Bakst exhibition at the Boston Art Club, Boston for $250 on 2 January 1914.
Collection of Anna Pavlova in 1913.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Bakst exhibition at the Boston Art Club, Boston for $250 on 2 January 1914.
Object/Book
