Chapter III: Part 3

Such were the two faces of Russia which were exhibited by two painters who are more than painters,--Benois who has the power of retrospective divination, Bakst who possesses an understanding of modern life and of its tumultuous forces.

But behold! the curtain which has just fallen on the bristling, rough, malicious scenery of “Lâcheté”, rises once more to unfold before our eyes a third Russia--a Russia debonair and drunken, ignorant and full of spirit.

The vaudeville act “Old Moscow” depicts a rich and opulent city of merchants wearing their <g>kaftans</g>, of free carousals, of a jovial savagery. Two frames, reaching to the knees of the actors, form the stage setting. On them is a miniature reproduction of the orphaned capital with its forty times forty cupolas, encircled by the crenelated walls of the Kremlin. And amidst this delightfully exaggerated parody of a stage full of moujik=bourgeois, we see funny human beings, overbubbling with good health, moving about dressed in wide, stiff skirts that are sky=blue or tri=colored; likewise country women weighing a hundred kilos.

The thing that is of importance above everything else in this caricature composed without any masked thought is that aroma of the land which, even in its funniest moments, makes the tears come to the eyes of Moscow <g>émigrés</g>.

Today Bakst is completely absorbed by this forgotten world which rises about him on a background of a distant past. He is consumed with an appetite for Russian memories, emotions and visions. Each day in his studio a population of Russian figures keeps multiplying--models and groups of which not only their costume but their very attitude has something indefinably national about them, something profoundly popular, in short, something authentic. And to what purpose? The artist as yet does not know. Once the actors are placed upon the stage, he says to himself, the play will start spontaneously. And in pursuing his enormous and unceasing labors he lets things take their course without hastening them.--

We have accompanied Bakst up to his last station. It is time, therefore, for this sketch to end. The writer takes leave of his readers and descends into the audience in order with his readers to await the rising of the curtain for the next act of the most beautiful of plays: the life of a grand and noble artist.

CONTENTS

TEXT

The Story of Leon Bakst’s Life. Preface 13

The Yellow Drawing Room 15

The Ungrateful Age 18

The Two Sphinxes 32

A Wrong Start 40

The Club 48

Mir Iskousstva 56

The Three Knocks 77

The Theban Gate 89

Terror Antiquus 107

The Spiral Road 110

A Show in an Armchair 132

Epilogue. Bakst and Russia 217

PLATES

Portrait of Bakst by Modigliani I

“Chastising Cupid”, project of decorative panel II

D’Annunzio’s “Martyrdom of St. Sebastian”, Mme. Rubinstein in the 5th act III

Judith of Bethulia (panel) IV

“Forsaken Chloe”, project of decorative panel. (Gouache) V

Portrait of Mr. T. (red chalk) VI

“Modern dress” (a “fantaisie”) VII

“Daphnis and Chloe parting in the evening”, sketch for decorative panel. (Gouache) VIII

“Sheherazade” ballet. First Eunuch. (Gouache) IX

An inferior deity. “Narcissus” ballet. (Gouache) X

Stage decorations for ballet “Orientales”. (Gouache) XI

A Negro’s costume (Sheherazade) XII

Stage decorations for Oscar Wilde’s “Salome”. (Gouache) XIII

“Phædra” tragedy. Phædra’s nurse XIV

Stage decorations for Hindu ballet. (Gouache) XV

Mme. Ida Rubinstein as St. Sebastian XVI

The imperial palace (“The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian”) XVII

Mme. Rubinstein in “The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian” XVIII

The “Women of good humour” ballet. Rinaldo. (Gouache) XIX

Stage decorations for “Phædra” (Gouache) XX

A costume. “Narcissus” ballet XXI

The Pilgrim (“Blue God” ballet). Gouache XXII

Stage decorations for act 4th of D’Annunzio’s “St. Sebastian”. (Gouache) XXIII

The Czarevitch’s costume (“The Bird of Fire”) XXIV

Project of stage decorations for “Sleeping Beauty” XXV

Stage decorations for the vault scene (“St. Sebastian”) XXVI

“Terror antiquus”. First golden medal. 1911 Universal Exhibition (Brussels) XXVII

“Terror antiquus” (detailed) XXVIII

Submarine monsters (“Sadko” opera). Gouache XXIX

Stage decorations for the ballet “Women of good humour” (second version). Gouache XXX

A bacchanalian dance (Joseph) by R. Strauss XXXI

Mr. Nijinsky as “Blue God”. (Gouache) XXXII

The red Sultana XXXIII

The pink Sultana. (Gouache) XXXIV

The yellow Sultana. (Gouache) XXXV

Stage decorations for the “Blue God” XXXVI

Stage decorations for act 3rd of Verhaerens’s “Helen
of Sparta”. (Gouache) XXXVII

Stage decorations for the “Cleopatra” ballet XXXVIII

Costume for Tcherepnine’s “Adoration” XXXIX

Costume for Stravinsky’s “Bird of Fire” XL

The “Boutique fantasque” ballet. The child with dolls XLI

The “Butterflies” ballet. A valet in 1850 XLII

A huntress. Decorative panel XLIII

The “Boutique fantasque” ballet. A doll XLIV

A page (“Aladin” ballet) XLV

A page in Louis XIV’s style (“Aladin” ballet) XLVI

The Empress Elisabeth Petrovna hunting. (Gouache) XLVII

Delphi. (Gouache) XLVIII

Galisson, Prince Charmant’s tutor. Louis XIV
ballet (Pavlova tournée). Gouache XLXIX

The Bird of Fire (another version). Gouache L

The “Boutique fantasque” ballet. The Englishwoman LI

The “Boutique fantasque” ballet. The Englishman LII

Stage decorations for “Thamar” LIII

“Sadko” LIV

The “Boutique fantasque” ballet. “La poupée aux
dentelles” LV

Modern Costume (A “fantaisie”). Gouache LVI

Portrait of Ida Rubinstein LVII

A call (Poster for an exhibition at Vienna). Gouache LVIII

A living model. Red chalk and chalk LIX

The “Boutique fantasque” ballet. An Italian doll LX

Portrait of the poet A. Bely. Crayon and pencil LXI

A portrait LXII

Portrait of the boy Z. Red chalk LXIII

The “Women of good humour” ballet. Dorothea LXIV

A peasant woman (Sketch by Potemkine). Gouache LXV

A peasant woman (Sketch by Potemkine). Gouache LXVI

Costume for “Le chantre et la dévote” LXVII

Costume of peasant woman for Potemkine’s “Village” LXVIII

Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:

certain amateurishsess=> certain amateurishness {pg 50}

Offtimes he is mistaken=> Oftimes he is mistaken {pg 50}

due do the fact=> due to the fact {pg 50}

quite agressive=> quite aggressive {pg 50}

when its was exhibited=> when it was exhibited {pg 109}

uncompromising youth wo defie=> uncompromising youth who defie {pg 122}

painter Pierre Ronnard=> painter Pierre Bonnard {pg 180}

Baskt exchanges=> Bakst exchanges {pg 203}