Opening of the exhibition of the artist Lev Bakst. Opening of the Lev Bakst exhibition at the Pushkin Museum. Listen to media radio "Blago" online

About two hundred and fifty works of painting, original and printed graphics, photographs, archival documents, rare books, as well as stage costumes and sketches for fabrics are brought together for the first time at the exhibition "Lev Bakst /Leon Bakst. To the 150th anniversary of his birth."

The exhibition pays tribute to the rich and varied work of one of the most original and bright artists beginning of the twentieth century.

Lev Samoilovich Bakst, known in the West as Leon Bakst, is famous primarily for his impressive projects for S. Diaghilev’s Russian seasons in Paris and London. His unusual and dynamic sets and costumes contributed to the success of such legendary productions as Cleopatra, Scheherazade, The Blue God and The Sleeping Princess, and influenced the overall concept of stage design. Considering ballet, opera and drama as synthetic artistic constructions in which color, sound, word and movement are equal partners, collaborating with such outstanding personalities - impresarios, artists, musicians, dancers and writers - as Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, Igor Stravinsky, Alexandre Benois, Claude Debussy, Ida Rubinstein, Isadora Duncan, Gabriel d'Annunzio and others, Bakst radically changed the way an artist exists on stage, freeing the energy of his movement and creating an organic connection between the proscenium and the auditorium.

Bakst became famous not only as theater artist, but also as a painter, as a portraitist, as a master of book and magazine illustration, interior designer and creator of haute couture of the 1910s, close to the fashion houses of Paquin, Chanel and Poiret. Bakst also designed jewelry, bags, wigs and other fashion accessories, and wrote articles about contemporary art, design and dance, lectured in Russia, Europe and America on fashion and contemporary art, wrote an autobiographical novel full of intriguing details, was fond of photography and at the end of his life showed great interest in cinema. In love with antiquity and oriental art, Lev Bakst combined the extravagance of Art Nouveau with a sense of proportion and common sense- this rare combination brought him world fame.

The exhibition includes works from public and private Russian and Western collections. Many of them are shown in Russia for the first time. Works presented at the exhibition at the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin, cover a number of the most important topics for the artist: landscapes, portraits, panels, fashionable clothes and fabrics, and, of course, the theater, to which the main part of the exhibition is devoted. Among theatrical works one cannot fail to note the costume designs for Ida Rubinstein as Salome for “The Dance of the Seven Veils” (1908, Tretyakov Gallery) and as Cleopatra for the ballet of the same name (1909, St. Petersburg State Museum of Music and Music; a gift from the Konstantinovsky International Charitable Foundation in 2013; from the collection of Nikita and Nina Lobanov-Rostovsky); costume designs for “The Boeotian” (c. 1911, St. Petersburg State Museum of Music and Music) and “The Bacchae” (1911, Center Pompidou, Paris) for the ballet “Narcissus”; costume design for Vaslav Nijinsky in the role of Faun for the ballet " Afternoon rest Faun" (1912, private collection, Paris); costume design for “The Young Man Accompanying Orpheus to the Temple” for the ballet “Orpheus” (1914, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts); costume design for “Columbine” for the ballet “The Sleeping Princess” (1921, Victoria and Albert Museum, London). The exhibition will feature famous easel works: “Portrait of Sergei Diaghilev with a nanny” (1906, Russian Museum), “Self-portrait” (1893, Russian Museum), “Dinner” (1902, Russian Museum), portraits of Dmitry Filosofov (1897, Dagestan Museum fine arts named after P.S. Gamzatova, Makhachkala), Andrei Bely (1906, State Museum of Art, Moscow) and Zinaida Gippius (1906, Tretyakov Gallery), decorative panels “Ancient Horror” (“Terror Antiquus”) (1908, State Russian Museum) and “Elysium” (curtain for Drama Theater V.F. Komissarzhevskaya in St. Petersburg, 1906, State Russian Museum).

A number of costumes created according to Bakst’s sketches will be presented: Museum of the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A.Ya. Vaganova will show the famous costume of Vaslav Nijinsky in the role of the Phantom of the Rose, St. Petersburg state museum theatrical and musical art provided four costumes: a Japanese doll for Vera Trefilova for the ballet “The Fairy of Dolls”, costumes for the ballets “Cleopatra”, “Carnival”, “Daphnis and Chloe”. The famous Russian fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev - more than 10 exhibits from his collection: fashionable dresses and theatrical costumes 1910–1920s for the ballets “Tamara”, “Scheherazade”, “The Sleeping Princess”.

The art of Lev Bakst is an organic part of the revival of interest in decorative arts the beginning of the twentieth century in Russia, Europe and America. The innovation and ingenuity of the artist's stage design still influences modern artistic process.

A scientific illustrated catalog has been prepared for the exhibition, which presents about 400 works by the artist.

Curators of the exhibition:

John E. Boult, director of the Institute of Contemporary Russian Culture at the University of Southern California, USA
Natalia Borisovna Avtonomova, head of the Department of Personal Collections of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin

MOSCOW, June 7 - RIA Novosti, Anna Gorbashova. Grand opening The large-scale retrospective exhibition "Leon Bakst / Léon Bakst. On the 150th anniversary of his birth" was sold out on Monday at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Pushkin Museum) as part of the festival " Cherry forest".

The first guests of the exhibition, which will open to visitors on June 8, were the director of the Tretyakov Gallery Zelfira Tregulova, singers Kristina Orbakaite, Alena Sviridova, editor-in-chief of L'Officiel Russia magazine Ksenia Sobchak, actress Marina Zudina, financier Mark Garber, TV presenter Irada Zeynalova and others famous figures culture and show business.

In the “Italian Courtyard,” guests were greeted by models wearing dresses from the capsule collection of the famous Italian fashion designer Antonio Marras, which were created according to Bakst’s sketches especially for the exhibition. Marras himself was also present at the opening.

The world of beauty created by Bakst

“Our exhibition presents all aspects of Bakst’s work - portraits, landscapes, theatrical costumes, beautiful fabrics created according to his sketches. We tried to make this a story about an artist who created a world of beauty around himself. You will see 250 works, including extremely rare from private collections and the largest museums in the world,” said Marina Loshak, director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, opening the exhibition.

She noted that the curators had a difficult task and the exhibition was complex.

“I’m horrified that there are so many of us today. We didn’t expect there to be so many people,” Loshak was surprised.

The ideological inspirer of the Chereshnevy Les festival, the head of the Bosco company, Mikhail Kusnirovich, informed those present that they would have to examine the exhibition in groups.

Excursions are available to be conducted by theater artist Pavel Kaplevich, director of the Multimedia Art Museum Olga Sviblova, fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev, who provided for the exhibition costumes created for Parisian fashion houses based on Bakst’s sketches, and other guests - experts in the artist’s work.

"It is symbolic that on Pushkin’s birthday in Pushkin Museum we discover Bakst's work. We dressed up, forgot about traditional snacks, we came to a meeting with art,” Kusnirovich called for the audience’s attention, since the speakers had to speak without a microphone on the central staircase.

One of the curators of the exhibition, British art critic John Boult, joked that he personally believes in cosmic signs, and such a sign was sent to him.

“I believe in cosmic signs. It is known that Pushkin loved women’s legs, but Bakst clearly did not like them; when we were finishing preparations for the exhibition, I broke my leg in celebration,” Boult said.

Diaghilev's seasons and portraits

Painter, portraitist, theater artist, master of book illustration, interior designer and creator of haute couture in the 1910s, Leon Bakst, known in the West as Leon Bakst, is best known for his impressive designs for Sergei Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris and London.

Having split into groups, the guests went to inspect the exhibition. Kaplevich immediately led his group to Bakst’s work “The Awakening,” which had never been exhibited in Russia—from the Rothschild family foundation.

“The panel on the theme of the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty” was commissioned by the Rothschilds for Bakst. Members of the Rothschild family posed for him as models,” said Kaplevich. In total, Bakst made seven fabulous panels for British billionaires.

The famous Russian fashion historian Vasiliev presented at the exhibition more than 20 exhibits from his private collection: fashionable dresses and theatrical costumes of the 1910-1920s for the ballets "Tamara", "Scheherazade", "The Sleeping Princess" and others, created according to Bakst's sketches.

St. Petersburg Museum of the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A.Ya. Vaganova provided Vaslav Nijinsky’s famous costume from the ballet “The Phantom of the Rose” for the exhibition.

“Nezhinsky’s costume is the main eroticism of the world,” said Kaplevich.

Another gem of the exhibition is a costume design for the artist’s favorite ballerina, Ida Rubinstein, for the ballet “Cleopatra.”

The exhibition also includes easel works by the artist: “Portrait of Sergei Diaghilev with his nanny”, a self-portrait of the artist, portraits of poets Andrei Bely and Zinaida Gippius, as well as decorative panels “Ancient Horror” and other works.

The exhibition is stylish and smart

“The result was a very artistic project, a stylish, smart exhibition, which reflected everything that Bakst did - a brilliant portrait section and a huge number of things little known in Russia. Diaghilev’s words, which he once said to Jean Cocteau, can be applied to this project: “ Surprise me,” Tregulova shared her impressions with a RIA Novosti correspondent.

In her opinion, the exhibition contains “exactly what needs to be said today about this artist.”

"It seems to me that the exhibition will benefit great success“, she’s intriguing,” summed up the director of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Works for the exhibition were provided by the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Russian Museum. St. Petersburg State Museum of Theater and Musical Art, State Central Theater Museum named after A.A. Bakhrushin, Central Naval Museum (St. Petersburg), Novgorod State United Museum-Reserve, Paris Pompidou Center, London Victoria and Albert Museum, Rothschild Family Foundation, Strasbourg Museum of Modern Art, Israel Museum, as well as private collectors from Moscow, Paris, London and Strasbourg - a total of 31 exhibitors.

A large-scale cultural event is taking place in Moscow, which may be no less successful than the recent exhibition of Valentin Serov. A retrospective exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Lev Bakst opened at the Pushkin Museum - famous artist, illustrator and designer. Bakst is known throughout the world primarily as a theater artist and was glorified by his legendary Diaghilev seasons.

You want to look at the museum exhibits at the exhibition for a long time, touch them with your hands, they are so attractive, sewn to order from fashionistas. “Bakst managed to capture the elusive nerve of Paris, which rules fashion, and its influence is felt everywhere: both in ladies’ dresses and in art exhibitions,” wrote Maximillian Voloshin in 1911. The artist created his own Bakst style. And Paris soon forgot that Bakst was a foreigner, that he was from Russia.

“He was the first artist, interior designer, there was no such word yet, and he was even a little shy about it, but he did it very enthusiastically,” said Marina Loshak, director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

And, and design developments - everything is a success. He wrote to his wife: “Orders are pouring in like nuts from a tree. Even England and America are affected. I’m just throwing up my hands!” Evidence of world recognition is now in several halls of the Pushkin Museum: 250 portraits, landscapes, theatrical costumes, fabrics.

After incredible success“Scheherazade”, the exotic East quickly became fashionable: from bright colors to unusual turbans. "Russian Seasons" made Bakst a world-class star. Fabrics based on his sketches were sold all over the world on an industrial scale.

Three dozen collections - public and private, collected from different countries— represent all facets of the work of Lev Bakst, who was included in world history under the name Leon. First of all, the ballet scenery and costumes, where it remained, according to Alexandra Benois, "the only and unsurpassed." In collaboration with Sergei Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinsky, Igor Stravinsky, the artist radically changed the very way an artist exists on stage.

“Even in his sketches, he sought to make not just neutral costumes, he saw the costume of a specific actor. His costume was not separated from the performer’s personality,” said Natalya Avtonomova, head of the personal collections department of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibition would have been unprecedented if museums in America had taken part in it, which applauded Bakst after the First World War, where he painted paintings and designed performances, in particular for the troupe of Ida Rubinstein. But, as Marina Loshak said with a sigh, “the unfortunate Schneerson does not let us live, and we cannot take American things.” True, the project arose thanks to an American. Its initiator is a specialist in Russian art, who studied at Moscow State University with Dmitry Sarabyanov.

“Many of Bakst’s posthumous things are fakes, and we had to be very careful. Some fakes are very good and look almost like Bakst. The museum staff and I were very attentive and careful about this, this is a big problem now, and I’m afraid after our exhibition there will be more fakes are like mushrooms after rain,” said John E. Boult, director of the Institute of Contemporary Russian Culture at the University of Southern California.

This project is predicted to be a success, turning into a stir. Like the one that not so long ago called, a close friend and like-minded person, Lev Bakst. This was indirectly confirmed by the organizer of the Serov exhibition Zelfira Tregulova: “The words of Diaghilev spoken to Jean Cocteau can be applied to the exhibition at Pushkinsky: “Surprise me.”

An exhibition has opened at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, which will undoubtedly attract the attention of connoisseurs different styles and directions of painting.

The exhibition includes 250 works by Lev Bakst, a portrait painter, master of landscape and book illustrations, theater artist. They were provided largest museums world and private collectors. And some will be seen by the Russian public for the first time.

“Dinner”, after which a scandal broke out. Contemporaries called this painting by Lev Bakst too frank and frightening. Many recognized the Mona Lisa in the lady’s smile, and saw the forbidden fruit in the oranges. The stranger with the serpentine curves of her body was clearly tempting.

Bakst intrigued with each painting. He portrayed the poetess Zinaida Gippius as a rebel in men's suit, many portraits were deliberately left unfinished, while still conveying facial features with photographic accuracy. And critics immediately recognized the image of Sergei Diaghilev as the most accurate.

“Bakst somehow sums up all the elements of Diaghilev’s character. On the one hand, we see a very theatergoer, and on the other hand, one might say, even an old-fashioned, nostalgic person. That is, it is no coincidence that his nanny is in the background,” said exhibition curator John Boult.

He never chased fame - it came to him on its own. And even the Rothschilds now order Bakst to decorate their estate. The family members themselves, their friends, servants, and even a dog modeled after the Rothschilds’ favorite pet posed for him as models for the panel based on the fairy tale “Sleeping Beauty.”

But the main model for the artist remained his wife - Lyubov Gritsenko, the daughter of gallery owner Tretyakov. And even when they quarreled, Bakst dedicated the most romantic stories to his wife. Like in this picture. And if you mistook it for a still life, then take a closer look.

“We see Bakst himself and his wife. In general, the whole mood of this work, you see, is somewhat of a sad nature. And characteristic of Bakst’s mood at this moment. He is on the verge of a divorce from his wife,” says the director of the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkina Marina Loshak.

Bakst's works are hunted by gallerists and collectors all over the world, and he himself often did not take his works seriously. He threw them away and burned them. He painted swiftly and quickly, and in search of inspiration he traveled all over the world, remaining in love with Ancient Greece until the end of his life.

Aphrodite smiles as the world collapses behind her. Many critics believed that with the painting “Ancient Horror” Bakst predicted the fall of Russian Empire and the victory of the revolution of the 17th year. And this is already heaven on earth - the mythical Elysium. The artist chose one of the versions of this plot for the curtain of Vera Komissarzhevskaya’s theater. Moscow viewers will see it for the first time.

The main artist of Diaghilev's Russian Seasons, he revolutionized the theater. Having tried on the costumes made according to Bakst’s sketches, the artists were shocked: where were the starched tutus, where were the tight corsets in which the whole world danced then? Instead, there were almost weightless trousers and chiffon dresses that barely covered the body. Wearing a silk jersey suit, Vaslav Nijinsky captivated the audience with his role as the Phantom of the Rose. Bakst then personally supervised the work of the milliners.

“According to the recollections of contemporaries, these petals that we see on the suit were cut out according to his specific design. And he himself ordered how to sew them - whether all the petals or some part of the petal, so that they were in such a vibration,” says exhibition curator Natalya Avtonomova.

But fabrics alone were not enough for him, and he painted directly on bare legs, arms and shoulders. His sketches for the ballets “Scheherazade” and “Cleopatra” became alive, the dancing figures became iconic. He created them specifically for Ida Rubinstein.

Then, for the first time, people began to come to the theater specifically for the scenery and costumes. Paris was drunk with Bakst. And French fashionistas asked their tailors to sew them dresses a la Bakst - Arabic or pseudo-Egyptian style. Now many of these outfits are in the collection of Alexander Vasiliev.

“A turban, the absence of a corset, trousers, a lampshade skirt - details that take the Parisian woman into the atmosphere of a harem. Bakst is the creator of orange in fashion. And many non-trivial combinations of fashion of 1910-1920 came precisely from Leon Bakst. It's purple and green. A combination, for example, of crimson and extreme bronze or gold,” says fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev.

He turned into a style setter. All leading fashion houses begged Bakst to draw at least a few sketches for them. And at a time when ladies didn’t even think about wearing trousers, he already said that women’s fashion tends to be similar to men’s. He was not ahead of his time, but only created an era.

From June 8 to August 28 at the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin will host a large-scale anniversary retrospective exhibition of Lev Bakst (1866-1924).

About two hundred and fifty works of painting, original and printed graphics, photographs, archival documents, rare books, as well as stage costumes and designs for fabrics are brought together for the first time at the exhibition “Leon Bakst. To the 150th anniversary of his birth."

The exhibition pays tribute to the rich and varied work of one of the most original and vibrant artists of the early twentieth century.

Bakst became famous not only as a theater artist, but also as a painter, as a portrait painter, as a master of book and magazine illustration, as an interior designer and creator of haute couture in the 1910s, close to the fashion houses of Paquin, Chanel and Poiret. Bakst also designed jewelry, bags, wigs and other fashion accessories, wrote articles on contemporary art, design and dance, lectured in Russia, Europe and America on fashion and contemporary art, wrote an autobiographical novel full of intriguing details, was fond of photography and, in the end, throughout his life he showed great interest in cinema. In love with antiquity and oriental art, Lev Bakst combined the extravagance of Art Nouveau with a sense of proportion and common sense - this rare combination brought him world fame.

A number of costumes created according to Bakst’s sketches will be presented: Museum of the Academy of Russian Ballet named after A.Ya. Vaganova will show the famous costume of Vaslav Nijinsky in the role of the Phantom of the Rose, the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theater and Musical Art provided four costumes: a Japanese doll for Vera Trefilova for the ballet “Fairy of Dolls”, costumes for the ballets “Cleopatra”, “Carnival”, “Daphnis and Chloe." The famous Russian fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev - more than 10 exhibits from his collection: fashionable dresses and theatrical costumes of the 1910-1920s for the ballets “Tamara”, “Scheherazade”, “The Sleeping Princess”.

The art of Lev Bakst is an organic part of the revival of interest in decorative art of the early twentieth century in Russia, Europe and America. The innovation and ingenuity of the artist's stage design still influences the modern artistic process.

A scientific illustrated catalog has been prepared for the exhibition, which presents about 400 works by the artist.