1866 – 1924
Léon Bakst (1866–1924) was the great colourist of the modern stage. Born Lev Rosenberg in Grodno, in the Russian Empire, he trained in St Petersburg and became a founding force of the Mir iskusstva (“World of Art”) movement alongside Sergei Diaghilev and Alexandre Benois.
When Diaghilev launched the Ballets Russes in Paris, Bakst became its defining visual voice. His designs for Cléopâtre (1909), Schéhérazade (1910), L’après-midi d’un faune (1912) and Le Dieu Bleu (1912) astonished audiences with their exotic palettes, flowing forms and open sensuality. In Bakst’s hands, costume became the drama itself.
Bakst’s influence leapt off the stage. His saturated colour and Orientalist line reshaped Paris fashion — the couturier Paul Poiret and the emerging Art Deco style owe him an enormous debt — and his set and costume plates made him one of the most collected designers of his age. It is in his works on paper that he is most alive: swift pencil armatures flooded with watercolour, gouache and gold.
Kings Gallery presents a focused selection of original works by Léon Bakst, including a design associated with Le Dieu Bleu and a signed watercolour costume study. Each work is offered with the gallery’s guidance on condition and provenance; our team is glad to arrange viewings and secure worldwide shipping from Jerusalem.
