Ballet Fairy-Tale. Sketches by Dimitri Bouchène for Serge Lifar’s Productions

Abstract

The article is dedicated to set designs and sketches for costumes, performed by Russian-French artist Dimitri Bouchène (1893–1993) for ballets choreographed by Serge Lifar. Bouchèn emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1925. In Europe he successfully worked in different styles and genres: as a painter, book illustrator and graphic artist, designer for fashion and interiors. Bouchène is known primarily as a set designer. He was the author of set designs and sketches for costumes for more than 30 productions: dramatic performances, operas, ballets, and individual dances. In the 1940s–1960s, he made stage designs for 6 ballets staged by Serge Lifar in France (Paris, Grand Opera), Sweden (Göteborg, Stora Theater) and Portugal (Lisbon, Tivoli Theater). The article is the first to summarize this material, touching on each performance and known designs for them in detail. Its aim is to identify the place and role of these works in developing the artistic manner of Bouchène and draw attention to the successfully formed creative and friendly tandem of the artist and choreographer. In the drawings made for Lifar’s ballets, the artist demonstrates a bold and broad stroke, active work of colour, inherent in his mature manner. Bouchène’s decoration designs are ornamental, full of expression and dynamics; they are distinguished by brilliance, play of saturated colour spots and temperamental manner. Creating sketches for costumes, Bouchène uses colour intensity, possibilities of various textures and the ability to combine them, accented with decorations to enhance and emphasize the characters and images.