Le dieu bleu bayadere with peacock 1912

Léon Bakst made this costume design for Le Dieu Bleu, probably with watercolor and pencil. It feels like Bakst is really thinking through the relationships of the forms, letting some areas remain undefined. The rendering of the figure is pretty amazing. Look at how the linear elements, especially the pen lines, don’t just describe the edges of things. They create a kind of vibrating field. It’s like the costume isn’t just sitting there, but is actually part of the dancer, and maybe even the music. I especially love the way the artist has used those thin, scratchy lines to depict the fabric. It’s almost like you can feel the texture. You can see this same kind of attention to surface in the work of someone like Klimt. But where Klimt is all about embellishment, Bakst seems more interested in how the surface can convey emotion, or maybe even movement. Ultimately, it’s a reminder that art is an ongoing conversation, where artists borrow, steal, and transform ideas. And that’s a beautiful thing.