MacDougall's Russian Art Auctions 1 December 2011

1 December 2011

Artist Index / Full Catalogue


Costume Design for Theseus in "Oedipus at Colonus"

71. BAKST, LÉON (1866-1924)

Costume Design for Theseus in "Oedipus at Colonus", signed and inscribed in Cyrillic "Oedipus in Colonus/Theseus".

Pencil, watercolour and gouache, heightened with silver and gold ink, on paper, 28 by 21 cm.
40,000-60,000 GBP


Sophocles’s play Oedipus at Colonus, for which Bakst created the present costume design, premiered at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St Petersburg on 8 January 1904.

Provenance: Previously with Grosvenor Gallery, London.
Private collection, UK.

Exhibited: Bakst and the Ballet Russes, The Fine Art Society, London, 13 November-15 December 1995, No. 9 (label on the reverse).

Literature: C. Spencer, Leon Bakst, London, Academy Editions, 1978, p. 227, illustrated.


Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.