Name of Object:

Costume for Cleopatra in the Ballets Russes production of Cléopâtre, 1918

Location:

Los Angeles, United States of America

Holding Institution:

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

 About Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles

Date of Object:

1918

Author:

Sonia Terk Delaunay (born Russia, active France, 1885-1979)

Inventory Number:

M.68.51.18a-b

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Silk, sequins, mirror, beads, wool yarn, metallic thread braid, lamé

Description:

The sets and many costumes for the 1909 Cleopatre were destroyed in a fire during the company’s 1917 South American tour, so painter Sonia Delaunay was commissioned to fashion new costumes for the principals. The artist’s palette of brilliant color, graphic design, and combination of textures resulted in costumes markedly different from the originals. Cleopatra’s luminous dress, reflecting the abstract forms in Sonia Delaunay’s paintings, as well as aspects of fashionable dress of the period, remains one of her most significant creations for the theatre.

Citation of this web page:

Kaye Spilker "Costume for Cleopatra in the Ballets Russes production of Cléopâtre, 1918" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;AWE;us;7;en

Prepared by: Kaye Spilker

MWNF Working Number: US1 001