Costume Représentant Parties Du Monde, Bal Louis XIV 1923

This photograph captures Valentine Hugo’s costume design for a Bal Louis XIV, and what strikes me is its theatricality. I can imagine the feeling of this luscious material, like the inside of a cocoon. Hugo was so prolific, experimenting with different forms of representation in her painting, drawing, and set design. This photograph shows her interest in costume and character. It makes me wonder, what was she thinking as she conceived this costume? Is this figure otherworldly? A ghost? I feel the figure is in dialogue with the paintings of other Surrealists at the time, like Leonora Carrington or Remedios Varo. These artists shared a sensibility for representing the dreamscape, the subconscious, and the unconscious states of the human psyche. Artists are always looking to each other for inspiration, even across different disciplines. I feel the artist's hand in this costume. It embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing for multiple interpretations.