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Costume for ‘Coppelia’ by Delibes: Coppelia

Georg Kirsta

Artwork Details

Costume for ‘Coppelia’ by Delibes: Coppelia
1929
Georg Kirsta
gouache heightened with gold on paper
12 1/8 in x 8 3/4 in (30.8 cm x 22.2 cm);12 1/8 in x 8 3/4 in (30.8 cm x 22.23 cm);19 1/4 in x 14 1/4 in (48.9 cm x 36.2 cm)
Museum Purchase
1948/1.217

Description

Subject Matter:

Coppelia is a ballet by French composer Leo Delibes. It opened in Paris in May of 1870. It is a comical twist on E.T.A. Hoffman's "Der Sandmann" (1816). 

Georg Kirsta was a Russian painter and costume and set designer who worked for European theatres and ballet companies. After the Russian Revolution, Kirsta emigrated to Berlin, Germany and then to Vienna, Austria; in the late 1930s, Kirsta moved to London. Throughout Kirsta's career, he worked for Bronislava Nijinska, Hedy Pfundmayr, Grete Wiesenthal, Hilde Holger, and Helene Tels; Kirsta also worked with the Metropolitain Ballet and the London Festival Ballet. In 1951, Kirsta organized a new Original Ballet Russe after the death of his associate Wassily de Basil, the co-creator of Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo with George Balanchine. Kirsta had an integral role in the popularization of ballet across the world.
 

Physical Description:

This vertical drawing is a costume design. The dress has a square neck, elbow-length sleeves, and a full, knee-length skirt. It is blue except for the right side of the torso and top of the hip which are black. A wide horizontal band of gold lattice appears on the left side of the skirt. 

Usage Rights:

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