[Dance] [Ballets Russes] Bobyshov, Mikhail Pavlovich. (1885–1964). [Fokine, Michel. (1880–1942)]
Mikhail Fokin and Vera Fokina in the Ballet Carnaval, 1916.
Large original watercolour and gouache painting over a pochoir and graphite outline on brown paper, depicting Mikhail Fokine and Vera Fokina in the Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes "Carnaval" set to music of R. Schumann and with costumes by Leon Bakst. Signed and dated in graphite [M. Bobyshov 1916.] (lower left in the image), stamped with a library stamp [Library of the Sadovsky club of the Transport Workers Union Konyushennaya Square, 2] [Saint Petersburg] (lower margin), stamped [Checked 1936] (left margin), inscribed in Cyrillic [Checked 1943] (lower margin), inscribed [year 45] and '46' (?) (lower margin). Image size 52 x 32 cm., sumptuously framed under UV-plexi in a hand-gilted and handcarved frame. Some small stains on paper, overall fine.A similarly painted example of this design illustrated on page 131 "A Feast of Wonders: Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes" (Skira, 2009) and exhibited at "Etonne moi! Sergey Diaghilev and Russian Ballet Seasons" (2009, Villa Sauber & Salle des Arts du Sporting d'Hiver, Monaco). Our example exhibited at "Vision of dance" (2009, Tretyakov gallery, Moscow, Russia). Provenance: Dutch photographer and art dealer Nico Koster, famous especially for his celebrated series about John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the Hilton Hotel, during their “Bed-in-for-Peace." Acquired from Koster Archives sale, Amsterdam, 2014.
The Russian Museum in St Petersburg has in its collections an oil painting from 1915 by Mikhail Bobyshov, 'Harlequinade,' inspired by the same subject. Bobyshov had been collaborating with the World of Art and showing his works at its exhibitions since the mid-1910s. Fokine was so impressed by Harlequinade, which depicts him and his wife Vera Fokine as Harlequin and Columbine, that he personally invited Bobyshov to work on the sets and costumes for the ballet entitled Eros, which was staged at the Mariinsky in 1915. The Soviet Russian stage designer and painter was later professor of the Repin Institute of Arts and was honoured with the title of People's Artist of The RSFSR (1961). Bobyshov designed theatrical performances for the Maly Theatre, the Stanislavsky Music Theatre in Moscow, the State Academic Comic Opera Theatre and many others and his works feature in the collections of such museums as the State Russian Museum and the State Tretyakov gallery as well as in numerous private collections. (11096)
Signed Photograph Dance