Léon Bakst is the artist of the World of Art group who is best known in the West. He owes his fame not only to his collaboration with the Diaghilev ballet, but also to his versatile talent as a stage designer, a talent that was enthusiastically acclaimed by haute couture and the fashionable salons.

However, he is virtually unknown to the general public today as a great fashion artist and textile designer. Our exhibition should extend considerably the perception of all who are fond of art fashion and admire Léon Bakst.

The collection of 33 textile, represented on the exhibition, is being shown in Russia for the first time.

The history of how this series of designs was created takes us back to 1924, when Léon Bakst worked much for Arthur Selig's silk manufactory in New York. After the artist's death, the designs lay for a couple of years in the office of his American lawyer. Later, having ended up in the solicitous hands of Alon Bement, the former director of MICA (the Maryland Institute College of Art), 33 original designs executed by inimitable stylemaker Léon Bakst find their way back, perfectly preserved, to the country of their creator.

The exhibition gives possibility to assess the way designs look on the textile. Some of these were printed by us on silk at the Italian manufactory Punto Como.

Curator
Natalia Kournikova