Old and new …
This 1937 illustration gives a taste of the vivid colours and striking forms, inspired by traditional Russian culture, with which Natalia Goncharova made her name as a costume and set designer. Her break-out hit was the Ballets Russes’s Le Coq D’Or in 1914. Dancers in appliqued cotton or velvet were complemented by her city backdrop, a modernist fantasy of ancient Azerbaijan.
Design icon …
Critics spilled as much ink on Goncharova’s designs as principal ballerina Tamara Karsavina’s barefoot performance.
Double bill …
The original costumes were only seen for one season as they belonged to the production’s sponsor. This illustration is for a revival in 1937.
Threads …
The move into costumes and later fashion seemed a natural one for Goncharova, whose chief influences included both modernist ideas and Tula province textiles.
Factory girl …
Goncharova’s creations were made largely alone. Dressed in her preferred working attire of men’s clothes, she grafted in a factory on Moscow’s outskirts.
