Pavel Tchelitchew

Previously in the Georges Bemberg Collection

The present lot closely relates to the gouache Girl (1933), which was sold in these rooms on 27 November 2012. The inscription at the top left indicates that it is a costume design for a production of George Balanchine's Errante, based on the fantasies by Schubert. In addition to designing the set and costumes for the ballet, Tchelitchew wrote the libretto with Balanchine. It had its world premier at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 10 June 1933. In 1935 L'Errante was revived by the American Ballet founded by Kirstein and Balanchine a year earlier. The ballet retained the ethereal look of the original production designed by Tchelitchew, with some figures interpreted as shadows or 'phantoms of the storm' (Les Ballets 1933, Brighton: The Royal Pavilion Art Gallery & Museums, 1987, p.70).