Lev Samoilovich Bakst

Milan, Rome, Munich, Galeria del Levante, Mostra commemorativa dell'opera di Leon Bakst, 1967
Strasbourg, Council of Europe, Les Ballets Russes, 1969
London, The Fine Art Society, Bakst, 3 December 1973 - 4 January 1974, no.52

Mostra commemorativa dell'opera di Leon Bakst. Milano-Roma-Munchen. Galleria del Levante, 1967, cat.no.33 (illustrated)
Bakst exhibition catalogue, London: The Fine Art Society, no.52 (illustrated)
C.Spencer, Leon Bakst, London: Academy Editions, 1973, p.232 (mentioned)
C.Spencer, Leon Bakst and the Ballets Russes (revised edition), London: Academy Editions, 1995, p.121 (illustrated), p.221 no.183

The sheet has been laid down on canvas. There are pinholes to the top corners. The paper has yellowed and the colours have faded. There is some light rubbing and wear along the edges. Held in a gold painted frame and under glass. Unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Bakst created the designs for Papillons for a charity performance held at the Mariinsky theatre, St. Petersburg in March 1912. Set to an arrangement by Cherepin of music by Schumann, the light-hearted ballet in one act was a short sequel to the 1910 Carnaval: a group of young girls make fun of Pierrot and he imagines them to be butterflies.

1912 marked the climax of Bakst' s association with the ballets russes, as he designed all of the company's new productions that year: Le Dieu Bleu, Thamar, L'après-midi d'un faune and Daphnis and Chloé. Nijinsky had often criticised Bakst's latter two sets for failing to harmonise with the costumes, indeed the stylised Cypress grove which forms the setting for Papillons would seems more appropriate for a production inspired by Ancient Greece, than the early nineteenth century German Romanticism conveyed by Bakst's delicate costume designs. Nevertheless, the work testifies to the enduring influence of Bakst's travels to Greece in 1905 and links the offered lot with the neo-classical thread which runs through all his 1912 productions (fig.1).

Although widely exhibited and published, the offered set design was never actually used for the Mariinsky theatre production, as the scenery was not finished in time. When the ballet was revived in 1914 in Monte Carlo, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky was asked to re-design the sets, although Bakst's original costumes were preserved.