Author: Art Association of Montreal

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2018-08-16

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9781391371511

Excerpt from Special Exhibition of the Work of Léon Bakst: December 17th, 1914 It was our privilege to be prewnt when Rakst ulnainetl his real introduction at the Thefitredn Chfuelet in june, 1909. From the moment when the curtain arose to the music which Arens'ky had written for the artist's ballet Cleopatre, until the amorous queen's galley glided down the river with its precious burden, there was never a false note struck. The settings were built upon extremely simple lines a vast Egyptian hall surrounded by mamive colnntns between which you caught glimpses of the glistening sapphire Nile. The prevailing color was a brilliant orange. And the great stones, which seem to have absorbed the golden sunlight, suggested deserts of glittering powdered sand outside. -t wae what one mightexpeet from the artist who afterward told us that he conceived a stage setting primarily not as a landscape or as architecture, hut as though it were a painting into which the human figures had not yet been painted. From each setting, he con tinned, l discard the entire range of nuances which do not amplify or intensity the hidden spirit of the table. Add to this the fact that the composer, the. Maitre dr build, the stage decorator, the dancers and mimes were all of the same race working in harmony, and you will not be sur prised at the artistic unity of the production. The com posers orchestrated for the ears, Bakst for the eyes. The inimitable interpreters were Pavlowa, dainty and divine. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.