Details
ALEXANDRE BENOIS (1870-1960)
Two costume designs for 'Le Rossignol' and 'Turandot'
the first signed in Cyrillic 'Aleksandr Benua' (lower right) and inscribed 'Danseuse' (upper right); the second signed and dated 'Alexandre/Benois/1940' (lower right) and inscribed with production title (upper left)
the first: pencil and watercolor on paper; the second: pencil, ink and watercolor, heightened with gold, on paper
1712 x 1034 in. (44.3 x 27.2 cm.); and slightly smaller
Provenance
Private British Collection.
‌with The Fine Art Society, London, November 1995 (labels on the backboards).
Acquired from the above by Ann and Gordon Getty on 17 November 1995.
Exhibited
Possibly, London, The Fine Art Society, Bakst and the Ballets Russes, 13 November-15 December 1995.
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Lot Essay

Igor Stravinsky’s (1882-1971) opera Le Rossignol was based on a libretto after Hans Christian Andersen’s (1805-1875) eponymous tale. The opera premiered in Paris on 26 May 1914 during Sergei Diaghilev’s (1872-1929) Saisons Russes for which Benois designed elaborate Asian-inspired décor and costumes.

‌Giacomo Puccini’s (1858-1924) opera Turandot was staged at La Scala, Milan in 1944 to honor the twentieth anniversary of the composer’s death, as well as later in 1958. Alexandre Benois’s son Nicola Benois (1901-1988) worked as a scenographer and costume designer at La Scala from 1935, and he likely collaborated with his father on these productions.

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