Эскиз костюма (Жрец. Последний акт) Ок. 1910-1913

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/16804/lot/66/

Lot 66*

NIKOLAI KONSTANTINOVICH ROERICH

(Russian, 1874-1947)

Costume design for Le Sacre du Printemps, circa 1910-1913

£ 10,000 - 15,000

RUB 830,000 - 1,200,000

THE RUSSIAN SALE

8 Jun 2009, 14:00 BST

LONDON, NEW BOND STREET

Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (Russian, 1874-1947)

Costume design for Le Sacre du Printemps, circa 1910-1913

indistinctly inscribed (upper right) and numbered '47' (upper left); with additional inscription in Latin 'Chorus Last Act Priest' (on verso)

gouache on paper

31 x 35cm (12 3/16 x 13 3/4in).

FOOTNOTES

PROVENANCE:

Purchased by the present owner at Sotheby's, late 1970s

Le Sacre du Printemps or The Rite of Spring, also known by its Russian title as Vesna svyashchennaya, is one of the most controversial and famous of all Diaghilev's productions. At first entitled The Great Sacrifice: A Tableau of Pagan Russia, the story for the ballet grew out of Roerich's lifelong passion for mysticism and esoteric ritual, presenting the primitive rites of ancient man as he welcomed spring, the life-giver, and made sacrifice to Yarilo, the Sun God. The musical score by Igor Stravinsky featuring innovative complex rhythmic structures and the use of dissonance was highly unexpected and innovative. Vaslav Nijinsky’s unusual choreography re-interpreting the primitive meaning of the dance provoked controversy that was to continue for many years. At the opening in Paris on 29 May, 1913, a member of the audience described the scene: 'Nothing that has ever been written about the battle of Le Sacre du Printemps has given a faint idea of what actually took place. The theatre seemed to be shaken by an earthquake. It shuddered. People shouted insults, howled and whistled, drowning out the music. There was slapping and even punching...the ballet was astoundingly beautiful.' Roerich later wrote: 'I remember how during the first performance the audience whistled and roared so that nothing could even be heard. Who knows, perhaps at that very moment they were inwardly exultant and expressing this feeling like the most primitive of peoples. But I must say this wild primitivism had nothing in common with the refined primitiveness of our ancestors, for whom rhythm, the sacred symbol, and refinement of gesture were great and sacred concepts'. Roerich changed the design several times between 1910 and the 1940s, considering this production a very important part of his artistic oeuvre. The present work is most likely a sketch for an early production of 1913 as suggested by the original photograph dated 1913 (fig. i), showing one of the ballet dancers in a costume closely resembling the design in the offered lot.

http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/24666/lot/34

Lot 34*

£ 3,000 - 5,000

RUB 250,000 - 420,000

THE RUSSIAN SALE

6 Jun 2018, 15:00 BST

LONDON, NEW BOND STREET

Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (1874-1947)

Costume design for 'Le Sacre du Printemps,' circa 1910-1913

indistinctly inscribed (upper right) and numbered '47' (upper left); with additional inscription in Latin 'Chorus Last Act Priest' (on verso)

gouache on paper

31 x 35cm (12 3/16 x 13 3/4in).

FOOTNOTES

Provenance

By repute purchased by a private New York collector at Sotheby's, late 1970s

Thence by decent

Le Sacre du Printemps or The Rite of Spring, also known by its Russian title as Vesna Svyashchennaya, is one of the most controversial and famous of all Diaghilev's productions. At first entitled The Great Sacrifice: A Tableau of Pagan Russia, the story for the ballet grew out of Roerich's lifelong passion for mysticism and esoteric ritual, presenting the primitive rites of ancient man as he welcomed spring, the life-giver, and made sacrifice to Yarilo, the Sun God. The musical score by Igor Stravinsky featuring innovative complex rhythmic structures and the use of dissonance was highly unexpected and innovative. Vaslav Nijinsky's unusual choreography re-interpreting the primitive meaning of the dance provoked controversy that was to continue for many years. At the opening in Paris on 29 May, 1913, a member of the audience described the scene: 'Nothing that has ever been written about the battle of Le Sacre du Printemps has given a faint idea of what actually took place. The theatre seemed to be shaken by an earthquake. It shuddered. People shouted insults, howled and whistled, drowning out the music. There was slapping and even punching... the ballet was astoundingly beautiful.' Roerich later wrote: 'I remember how during the first performance the audience whistled and roared so that nothing could even be heard. Who knows, perhaps at that very moment they were inwardly exultant and expressing this feeling like the most primitive of peoples. But I must say this wild primitivism had nothing in common with the refined primitiveness of our ancestors, for whom rhythm, the sacred symbol, and refinement of gesture were great and sacred concepts.' Roerich changed the design several times between 1910 and the 1940s, considering this production a very important part of his artistic oeuvre. The present work is most likely a sketch for an early production of 1913.