Map of St Petersburg, Between 1700 and 1725
Map of St Petersburg, Between 1700 and 1725
Morning of Execution of Streltsy - Vasily Surikov, 1881
(Tretyakov Gallery)
The Token of Love in Holy Matrimony - Karion Istomin 1689
Peter I of Russia was married off at age 16 to twenty year old Evdokia Fedoravna Lopukhina, a marriage celebrated by this manuscript by Istomin.
(University of Toronto)
The trailer for a short film I co-designed the costumes for in November (the costumes are a key visual clue to the psychological state of the main characters as the narrative progresses: that plus over 100 period outfits to put together and we were only brought on four days before the shoot!!). Very excited to see the finished product.
Léon Bakst’s lovely blue Costume for Chiarina in Carnaval!
This beauty took 450 hours of conservation treatment to restore the piece to her former glory.
The conservation article I found while looking for information about this costume is fascinating! it details the procedures taken to save the piece (click the photo for the original source)
“Until this year Chiarina’s costume had remained in storage since its acquisition by the Gallery at Sotheby’s auction in London in 1973 contained in a basket full of Ballets Russes costumes, several of which were shown in the Gallery’s very popular exhibition From Studio to Stage in 1990. Internal inscriptions indicate that the costume was intended for the principal dancer Lubov Tchernicheva, who was a member of the Diaghilev company between 1911 and 1929, and later danced with de Basil’s troupe from 1932 until 1952.
When the fragile, soiled costume was brought to the Gallery’s Conservation Department for treatment, the great size of the task was realised, and it was decided to start work on this costume well in advance of the exhibition.”
Chiarina’s costume before 450 hours of conservation treatment.
“Initially all components were vacuumed inside and out to remove loose dirt. Each ruffle was removed from the skirt so these could be flattened and then supported. To allow easy replacement after treatment, tailor tacks of varying colours were sewn to the ruffles and tassels as well as on corresponding locations on the skirt. The ruffles and tassels were carefully removed by cutting each stitch to avoid tearing the fragile silk, and all the darning threads were removed. The skirt without its ruffles was sponge cleaned avoiding the water soluble ink inscriptions. The ruffles were sprayed with water to wash the fabric and to flatten creases, and, whilst wet, the loose threads were aligned.
Once dry a backing of silk gauze coated with adhesive was ironed to the ruffles, and patches of silk fabric were inserted behind large losses. Badly damaged areas were faced with the same silk. The laborious task of regathering and sewing the ruffles onto the skirt was then carried out. To prevent further weakening of the fibres, the new sewing threads were sewn through original stitch holes. The tassels were individually washed and resewn to the textile… . The wonderful result of 450 hours’ of conservation has given the costume for Chiarina a new lease of life. It now has the freshness of Bakst’s original design – his drawing for Chiarina’s costume, on loan from the Stage Theatre and Music Museum, St Petersburg, will be displayed alongside the costume in the forthcoming exhibition.”
Accessory set ca. 1880-1899 via The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(Source: demons)
Willy Ronis | Café de France
