Costume design for the Opera, The Golden Cockerel, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 1909

Editor: This is Ivan Bilibin's costume design for Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, *The Golden Cockerel*, from 1909. The detail is incredible! I’m struck by the flatness and ornamentation. How do you approach a piece like this? Curator: With a focus on its formal elements, primarily. Observe the layering of patterns. The linear precision of the drawing itself contrasts vividly with the fluid application of watercolor. The mixed media approach allows for a textural diversity that enlivens what might otherwise be a static image. Notice the restricted color palette, the earth tones, the placement and the symbolism it provides. How does that all strike you? Editor: Well, the face on his chest plate definitely catches the eye, the focal point being its striking, symmetric quality. But there’s also a sense of theatricality that comes through the layering and how the artist manipulates shape, color and texture to represent richness. What do you mean by the use of color here, though? Curator: Exactly. Each color segment plays into how you interpret the symbolism in it. And while there isn't much dimension used here, how do you interpret it in terms of form and line in its space? It almost takes on this caricature effect in doing so. Editor: I hadn't thought about the lines in terms of negative space! Focusing on form clarifies Bilibin's choice to flatten the image, enhancing the symbolic weight of each element and makes the costume design come alive. Curator: Precisely. And that very construction elevates it beyond mere utility, inviting contemplation of form itself, doesn't it? Editor: I think it does! Thanks, I've really enjoyed breaking down the parts of this artwork!