Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (Russian, 1876-1942)


Costume design for Anna Pavlova as a Swan Princess signed by artist's monogram in Cyrillic with depiction of a pyramid between two palm trees, and dated '1923' (lower right); inscribed with number '1' in pencil (upper left); with additional pencil drawing and inscription in Cyrillic (lower right)pencil, watercolour, gouache, silver pigment on card laid on board37.5 x 27.7cm (14 3/4 x 10 7/8in).
|ProvenanceA La Vieille Cite, 350 rue Saint-Honore, Paris Acquired from the above by a private New York collector, 1978-1979Thence by descentDesigned for Anna Pavlova in 1923 for one-act ballet 'Old Russian Folklore' based on the theme of A. Pushkin's poem 'The Tale of Tsar Saltan'. Accompanied by music score by Nikolai Tcherepnine and choreographed by Novikov, it was premiered at Covent Garden in London on 17 September 1923.Bilibin's design for another scene in ballet is currently in the collection of the Ashmolean museum, England.