"Les femmes de bonne humeur" - set design 1917

This set design, Les femmes de bonne humeur, by Léon Bakst, is pure atmosphere, a painterly stage set. It’s a symphony of warm, earthy colors against a cool, rainy blue backdrop. The surface is alive with visible brushstrokes, especially in that dramatic night sky. You can almost feel the way Bakst loaded his brush, dragged it across the canvas, and let the texture of the fabric become part of the effect. Notice the architecture, how it seems to glow with a gentle light, achieved through layers of thin, translucent paint. Look at the edges of the buildings, they're not quite sharp, lending a dreamlike quality. This softness echoes the blurry line between stagecraft and painting. It reminds me a bit of Giorgio de Chirico, with its uncanny sense of place, of reality just slightly out of kilter. Art is always a conversation, isn’t it? Always an echo, a whisper, a re-imagining.