Art Deco, the seeds of contemporary art.

LEÓN BAKST

1. Having dealt with and admired the sophisticated figurines by Paul Philippe, and the elegant architecture by Pablo Monguió i Segura, we are ready to meet the genius of

Léon BAKST, originally Lev Samoylovich Rosenberg,(Leib-Haim Izrailevich) born in 1866 (died 27^th December 1924, Paris, France). Jewish Russian artist who revolutionized theatrical design. Painter, graphic artist, scene-designer, master of decorative and applied arts, and art theoretician.

 20th century ballet was born in St Petersburg, from a group of artists who were disenchanted with the arts scene in Russia. They included the painters Leon Bakst and Alexandre Benois, Serge Diaghilev, who had won fame for organising exhibitions of Russian paintings in Paris, and the choreographer Michael Fokine, who had become disaffected with the conservative, traditional ballets of Petipa.

 (George Gratham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-22745)Encyclopaedia Britannica, Katleen Kuiper 5/10/2016)

They rebelled against 19th century stage realism, which had turned pretentious and unimaginative lacking theatricality. Bakst’s designs for the Ballets Russes were opulent and innovative, and his influence on fashion and interior design was widespread.

 His artistic development on his own words progressed “From a graphic artist I became a pure painter” (He wrote to the collector and critic P.D. Ettinger in 1910). “It is easier to feel and synthesize form through paint; it is more real.” Bakst wrote to the artist A. P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva. 

Luminous colours and forms are distinctive features in his work. Light, graceful strokes, expressive lines, and bright, contrasting colours. According to Bakst, costumes should identify the character apart from showing the plasticity of the human body.

 Works by Lev Bakst are in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the

State Russian Museum and others. (https://www.vam.ac.uk/ Victoria & Albert Museum)

 “ … In place of the traditional dualism, the ballet must have a complete unity of expression, a unity which is made up of a harmonious blending of the three elements-music, painting and the plastic arts… dancing should be interpretative. It should not degenerate into mere gymnastics… it should explain the spirit…” Michael Fokine’s principles for the new Ballet. (www.michelfokine.com)

The subject matter of each ballet dictated the style of the choreography, music and design. Choreography became more expressive without formal mime movements and the corps de ballet became an integral part of the ballet instead of just a decorative background.                                                                                                                                                                                         

                                          

   Diaghilev Ballet souvenir programme, 1912 by Bakst

  

2. Overnight European ideas about ballet were overturned and ballet became an important art form. The success of Vaslav Nijinsky and Adolph Bolm restored the male dancer to popularity, the dancers became household names, and the designers the rage of Paris.

Schéhérazade, with music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, libretto by Léon Bakst, Alexandre Benois and Michel Fokine, and sets and costumes designed by Leon Bakst, was premiered 4^th June in 1910 at the Theatre National de l’Opéra de Paris with Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky. The influence it cast on the world of art, music, culture, fashion (it  inspired a fashion for harem pants, turbans and floor cushions), and literature was unprecedented, and is still a source of fascination to this day. It was performed over five hundred times between 1910 and 1929.

This dance drama was the first production completely devised by Diaghilev and his collaborators, bringing together vivid visual spectacle, powerful choreography and a re-orchestrated version of the 1888 symphonic suite that Rimsky-Korsakov had based on tales from The Arabian nights. Bakst’s costumes are an imagined orientalist amalgam of Ottoman and Persian styles, pale and diaphanous silk harem pants for the almées contrasting with strongly coloured, embroidered and intricately structured silk and velvet costumes for the lead male characters. Bakst’s drawing for Shah Zeman is an earlier, more ornate, version of the Shah’s actual costume, accentuating the strong rhythms of the dancer’s body by depicting the fabrics and the skirt ornaments as moving and floating. With gold body paint and bejewelled outfit, Nijinsky commanded the stage with his voluptuous and feline performance as Zoebéide’s favourite slave. Against the set’s emerald green walls and red carpets, the massed costumes of dancers in frenzied motion created a moving spectacle of colour intensifying towards the ballet’s orgiastic and violent climax.

                                                                               

Costume design for the Blue Sultana from Schéhérazade 1916-17, (page 31.2 h) x 23.2 (w) cm 

 

   

3. However, I would like to remark another ballet

The Firebird (ballet in one act and one tableux).

As a reaction from Paris criticism demanding an innovative musical composition according to the new ballet design, Diaghilev turned to the young composer Igor STRAVINSKY. The Firebird represented Stravinsky’s first commission from the Ballets Russes and proved to be the catalyst that began his ascent to international acclaim.

The premiere was on 25 June 1910, Théâtre National de l’Opéra, Paris.

 Photograph of Michel Fokine as Prince Ivan and Tamara Karsavina as the Firebird in The Firebird, 1910. Music Div., Library of Congress.

It is considered one of Michel Fokine’s best choreographies and one of Diaghilev’s most successful collaborative efforts [The work was restaged in 1926 with sets and costumes by Natalia Goncharova.]

 Michel Fokine's 1910 ballet The Firebird was based on Russian fairy tales. The Firebird has magical powers. In order to escape capture by the young Prince Ivan, she gives him an enchanted feather that will summon her if he is in trouble…

 Visually, the first Ballets Russes seasons were marked by Bakst´s exotic designs. His bejewelled colours, swirling Art Nouveau elements and sense of the erotic re-envisioned dance productions as total works of art.

Costumes for brigands in Fokine's ballet Daphnis and Chloé, designed by Léon Bakst, 1912. Museum no. S.508&A, B-1979; S.639&A, B, 635&A, C-1980, © Victoria & Albert Museum, London

 Léon Bakst (1866-1924) Costume design for Firebird, signed and dated 'Bakst/1922' pencil, watercolour and gouache, heightened with gold and silver, on paper 26¾ x 19¼ in. (67.9 x 48.9 cm)

                                 

http://www.harteconhache.com/2011/10/la-pajara-de-tamara-karsavina.html

                                                               
This is the work of art which I have chosen to analyse. The astonishing apparel of the Firebird builds movement and dynamism all around the design. The surreal nature of the character is reflected in the body features, its limbs, and basically its face.     

Her long golden plaits frame the character in bending position. The striking yellow, orange and red predominant colours highlight the impossible balance of a static picture.

A triangle shape set at the centre of the drawing becomes the focus of attention. It displays a pattern of flying birds and flowers. Then, the sight seems to raise and fall clockwise following the feathers skirt at the back.

Bakst’s goal was to design the protagonist in the ballet, the fabulous creature, the Firebird.

The whole array conveys the character’s nature and story. It is a vehicle to drive the spectator into the realms of fantasy, far away from conventions and restrictions.

Symbolism is a relevant aspect too. None of the elements chosen is optional. They are meaningful and explicit instances of the character. Consequently, the profusion of warm bright colours dazzles the observer. It might suggest confusion and excitement.

The silk thread lightness and transparency reveals with vivid realism the dancer’s legs, muscles and flesh. The exoticism of the richly embroidered pants and shoes lead our eyes to the left to meet in a symmetrical fashion the  overskirt of feathers flowing around the energetic drawing, and pointing towards an overellaborate headdress.

There is a sharp contrast between the lower and upper part of the design. Her ample bosom, her long arms which escape human shape to end up in claws...
Abstract lines define her neck and realistic proportion is deliberatedly abandoned.

Several jewels complement the luxurious costume. A string of pearls holds her hair, fine long earrings and a necklace which fastens her throat dangerously.

A sophisticated blue and purple flowered belt in a heart-shape tightens her waist.

Traditionally, the turkey’s feathers on the skirt and on the headdress stand for abundance, pride and fertility. Once again, it seems to play with symbolism reminiscence and irreverence.
A bracelet combining the dress oriental pattern with a large red stone completes the glowing spinning vision.

Therefore, the spectator is thrown in quest of further detail. This path, inevitably leads us to her terrible face. A mask. Gorgon like. Her plaited hair miming the snakes of the Greek mythical creature.

 Bask had been entrusted previous works by Diaghilev. He was already a popular setting and costume designer in Paris. It was the beginning of the most successful moment for the Ballets Russes in Europe.

An expert from the MOMA in New York considers this design as an artwork. However, other people disagree. I would not dare argue scholars. All in all, Bakst was a painter who developed and turned to different fields of art, photography, settings and costume design included. Obviously, he became an innovative and unprecedented artist.

This particular sample of his art has made an impression on me. Not only the drawing, but León Bakst as a total artist. As he, together with Diaghilev’s company and others later on, came out with a brand new approach to art, music, culture, and broadly speaking a new perspective on life.

 Nowadays, there is a certain rebirth of mythical dreamlands. As a result, I think this picture could belong to these fantastic kingdoms because it unfolds a sensuous, sophisticated and fascinating universe for us.  

Tamara Karsavina y Adolphe Bolm The Firebird

For further information.

https://youtu.be/hqynp3DH9NU

https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/symbolism/v/moma-costume-design-ballet-the-firebird&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwjl8-mPqZLSAhUD5xoKHVZkAWQQFggEMAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHqjJV9BzbhEUuzl4hJDM4TGKWpbw

https://youtu.be/7tBVc51SNiA

https://youtu.be/mUwdyN27TWI (Igor STRAVINSKY conducts The Firebird)

www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200185194/ (Library of Congress)

 https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200156312/ (programa de mano de la temporada 1910)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC6MmmLKEmA&feature=player_embedded

 (The Firebird video)

Casa FERRÁN (Ferrán House), 1910 by MONGUIÓ. Teruel (Spain)

Teruel (Aragon. Spain) was the starting point of the original idea about the present project. Consequently, it is going to be the second stop in our artistic journey. Architecture will be the focus to enjoy a wider perspective of Art Deco.

The uniqueness of Teruel lies not only in its superb gastronomy, but also in architecture. Unexpectedly, this jewel of the Mudejar style, (13th to 14th centuries) holds magnificent civil buildings following the Art Deco patterns.

Casa Ferrán (Ferrán House), 1910, by Monguió.
Pervading Art Deco style invites the observer to discover the elements which have been used, and to relish the expressiveness of the materials. Stone, iron and wood, combine in a handcraft symphony  according to the rules of Art Deco. Assymetry and  undulation, transform the building  materials into dynamic compositions. Therefore, shapes become powerful and well-balanced.

This spectacular building was refurbished in 1976 by the architect Carlos Ferrán. Keeping the most interesting elements, such as the stairs, which communicate the different floors, establishing a relationship among banisters, passages, iron columns, and furniture.

The Ferrán family have been working in the textile business before 1820. It seems the oldest boutique in Spain, and probably in Europe too. (www.ferranteruel.com). Actually, Art Deco is strongly related to the local bourgeoise. They pretended to rival the former aristocracy. Pablo Monguió i Segura who came from Tarragona, will design the new buildings. Master craftmen from Teruel would make it feasible.

Civil architecture embodies the most vigorous facet of Art Deco. Blocks of flats are arranged in a more rational manner (including bathing and personal hygiene facilities). Whereas sumptuous façades would develop three basic elements, front door, hallway, and staircase.

Pablo Monguió i Segura is an essential artist  thanks to his long stay in Teruel from 1897 to 1923 (not taking into account his moving to Tortosa from 1902 to 1908).

Art Nouveau, The Glasgow School and Viennese Secession artistic expression languages, plus the architect Lluís Domênech personal influence can be traced in his works. La Casa del Torico (The Tiny Bull House), and  the narrow façade of La Madrileña are salient examples.

Nonetheless, Casa Ferrán is Monguió’s most ambitious and thrilling building.

The dynamism and freedom the artist exhibits in the balconies structure is evident. Especially, on the corner of the building, which is definitely the greatest achievement.

Nature stands out as a main source of inspiration. Animal and vegetal symbolism. For instance, butterflies, stems, leaves and a variety of flowers.

The poetry of iron executed by Matías Abad, a blacksmith from Teruel, is such a delightful view.

To conclude our artistic tour, I would like to show you a further selection of cast iron works of art which you come across walking around the arresting and charming city of Teruel…

     

   

LIS House. Art Nouveau & Art Deco Museum

I have chosen Art Deco as the subject of this art gallery selection.

During a recent staying in Salamanca this turned out to be the topic of my first project. Consequently, we will begin this artistic journey there.     

CASA LIS.  Art Nouveau and Art Deco Museum.

Art Deco had an influence on every field concerned with design. The term makes reference to certain artistic expression in the period between World War I and World War II. The 1925 Paris Exhibition (the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes), brought together thousands of designs from all over Europe and beyond, and received over 16 million visitors. It was Bevis Hillier, an English historian, who used this concept in his work Art Deco of the 20´s and 30´s in 1968. (Victoria & Albert Museum www.vam.ac.uk).

Art Deco  influence is still felt nowadays. Distinctive lines and geometric patterns establish a difference from curving organic shapes characteristic of Art Nouveau. Luxurious materials, superb craftmanship and simple shapes are relevant features. It is an eclectic style which takes advantage of several trends. Mainly, the avant-gardes, the increasing mechanisation, and the archeological discoveries in Egypt and Mesopotamia (Tutankhamun´s tomb was discovered in 1922).

An idealized Orientalism built on stereotypes and preconceptions seduced the public. Remote cultures provided a world of mystery and sensuality and opened the realms of fantasy.

Undoubtedly, the chryselephantine-technique (from chrysos, gold and elephas, ivory) provides the finest examples of Art Deco between the 1920´s and 1930´s. The best sculptors devoted their work to this elegant and exotic woman. Demetre Chiparus or Paul Philippe show a colourful expressiveness in their works.

Russian dancer, by Paul Philippe. (Photographer, Óscar J. González Hernández)

This precious sculpture shows a young female dancer wearing a gilt dress. She is also wearing a headband which frames the whiteness and purity of the ivory and the fine handmade features of her face, hair and arms. Her arms are outstretched while balancing on one foot. A bracelet on her left hand leads the eyes of the spectator towards  her left arm, which is in a higher position than the rest of her body to enjoy the daintiness of her arm. Then, the sight moves from right to left following her right arm direction. Movement is the outstanding feature in this masterpiece. It is stressed in the folds and flounces in the dancer’s dress, and the dynamic choreography she is performing. There is a striking contrast with the serenity in her face. A careful study of the woman’s anatomy is remarkably achieved. Her upward progress forces the sight to follow her ballet shoe, reflecting the lace tightened around her standing left leg.

 This sculpture is made of gold-plated bronze and ivory. It stands on a marble pedestal. It is 63cm high, and it was made in 1913. The lady's clothes are mainly golden in colour, whereas the belt, the trims in the skirt and top of her dress are furnished with red hearts, two flowers, and extensively rounded shapes imitating buttons. The aforementioned decoration provides further volume to her outfit, and together with the jewels on her head and hand, frame and  highlight her exquisite features.

According to Sotherby’s catalogue (www.sotherbys.com), the model for this sculpture seems to be the Ballets Russes dancer Ludmilla Schollar, wearing a costume based on designs for the ballet Cléopâtre.

The so-called cold-painted bronze technique  makes reference to colourful bronze or either spelter figures, which were covered with enamel paint. Art deco figurines of women, were mainly made of these metals, Nevertheless, ivory was used for the hands and faces. (The Columbus Dispatch, www.dispatch.com)

The artist, Paul Philippe (Polish 1870-1930), studied sculpture at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris under Antonin Larroux (1859-1913). He exhibited with success at all the French salons. Philippe worked in both the Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Working in bronze, bronze and ivory, and pure ivory his sculptures are sought after worldwide collectors. Amongst his most recognised works are Le Reveil (The Awakening), Russian Dancer, and ‘Radha’ (Hickmet Fine Arts. hickmet.com). Many works by the artist have been sold at auction, including Russian Dancer. One was sold at Christie’s King Street ’20 Century Decorative Arts & Design’ in 2010 for $46.193.

In contrast to other artistic styles, Art Deco was basically decorative. Broadly speaking, artists did not aim at expressing feelings or emotions. Rather they tried to create beautifully designed  and well balanced objects, only to reflect the time and the society where they lived. Great technological development featured that moment in time. The first skyscrapers are built, aeroplanes, submarines and automobiles too. Progress is shown through a style  mirroring speed, machines, enthusiasm and the joy of life.