Shepherd in ‘Daphnis et Chloe’ 1912 - 1916

Léon Bakst made this design for ‘Shepherd in Daphnis et Chloe’ and it's all about rhythm and movement. You can see how he's used colour to build the patterns of the costume. It’s this sense of layering and combining that gives the whole design a feeling of energy and life. Look at the way the dark brown of the figure is set against the bright, almost vibrating blues, reds, and greens of the costume. The paint looks thin, kind of translucent, like it’s been washed on, but then there’s this real detail, like the yellow bands around the figure's ankle, or the way the edges of the green fabric flare out. It feels like he's trying to catch the dynamism of the dance. Bakst reminds me a little of Sonia Delaunay, who also blurred the boundaries between costume and painting. This piece is just a reminder that art is always a conversation, a playful exchange across time and different mediums.