'Fantaisie sur le costume moderne': Two female haute couture figures

Léon Bakst

1910 · Graphite, brush and watercolor and bodycolor · Drawings and Prints

As much as Bakst designs for the Ballets Russes display his wild imagination, much of it was informed by his close study of people and nature. A note on the bottom of this fashion study, written by Met curator A. Hyatt Mayor, explains that the artist Erté, another Russian designer working in Paris, recognized the costume on the left as an ensemble designed by the French fashion designer Paul Poiret. Bakst likely recorded the costumes to serve as potential inspiration for future costume designs.

Artist

Léon Bakst

Date

1910

Medium

Graphite, brush and watercolor and bodycolor

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1961