Ballerina Lubov Tchernicheva in the Ballet Cleopatra | Costumes by Sonia Delaunay, 1918

Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra, London, 1918
Costumes by Sonia Delaunay

Malcolm Burthnot, Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra, London, 1918 / E.O. Hoppé, Lubov Tchernicheva, 1918
Costumes by Sonia Delaunay

Costume Design for the Title Role of Cleopatra, 1918 (The Met) / Cleopatra costume by Sonia Delaunay (LACMA)

Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra, 1918 / Flora Marguerite Lion, Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra, 1918

Dame Laura Knight, Portrait of Lubov Tchernicheva as Cleopatra, 1919

In 1918, the celebrated impresario of the Ballets Russes, Sergei Diaghilev, commissioned the avant-garde artist Sonia Delaunay to redesign the costumes for a revival of the ballet Cléopâtre in London. This new commission was necessitated after the original, iconic costumes designed by Léon Bakst were tragically destroyed in a fire. Delaunay approached the project through the lens of Simultanism, a movement she co-founded with her husband, Robert Delaunay, which focused on the vibrant interplay of contrasting colors and geometric abstraction.
The full-length theatrical costume was meticulously crafted using a rich tapestry of materials, including silk, wool yarn, sequins, beads, metallic thread braid, and lamé. Crucially, Delaunay integrated small mirrors into the fabric. When hit by the theater’s electric stage lights, these mirrors and contrasting geometric shapes created a dazzling illusion of dynamic movement and rhythm on stage.

The original Cleopatra was the legendary Ida Rubinstein, whose exotic and striking presence defined the ballet’s premiere in Paris in 1909. Rubinstein eventually left Diaghilev’s company to form her own rival troupe, paving the way for a succession of other dancers to step into the role. The most successful and celebrated successor was Lubov Tchernicheva, who was married to the company’s long-standing régisseur, Serge Grigoriev.

Also:
The madman / Bolero | Maurice Ravel / Ida Rubinstein / Νίκος Καββαδίας, 1928