THE DESIGNS OF LÉON BAKST FOR THE SLEEPING PRINCESS by (BAKST, LÉON). LEVINSON, ANDRÉ - 1923

London: Benn Brothers Limited, 1923. No. 331 OF 1,000 COPIES, of which 500 were reserved for America. 394 x 298 mm. (15 1/2 x 11 3/4"). 2 p.l., 18 pp., [1] leaf, followed by plates. Publisher's quarter vellum over blue cloth boards. With frontispiece portrait of Bakst by Picasso, color vignettes by Bakst mounted on title page and table of contents, and 54 COLOR PLATES BY BAKST, one of these folding, all mounted on heavy stock and with lettered tissue guards. Covers and spine a bit soiled (upper part of back board slightly discolored), corners a little rubbed, small tape residue on pastedowns (from anchoring former acetate?), just a breath of foxing to mounts, a couple of tissue guards creased, but an excellent copy, the binding without any significant condition issues, and the text and plates clean and fresh. This is a beautifully produced record of the sets and costumes for Léon Bakst's final work, Serge Diaghilev's 1921 London production of Tchaikovsky's "Sleeping Beauty." Born Lev Samoilovich Rosenberg, Bakst (1866-1924) revolutionized theatrical set design and costumes when he began working with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris in 1909. His use of color was particularly innovative. He created a visual rhythm in his stage imagery through a keen control of color, line, and decoration, and guided the changing mood of a scene by the gradual introduction of colors that would match the emotion in the text. His costumes were inspired by the court of Louis XIV, by Moorish and Oriental designs, and by Russian folk art. Before Bakst, ballerinas generally wore white tutus and pink shoes; in his costumes, they appeared in a rainbow of colors. His influence extended beyond the theater into the world of fashion and interior design, and many of the iconic fashions of the 1920s bear the imprint of his creative ideas.