Carnaval de Schoumann 1915

Léon Bakst made this costume design, Carnaval de Schoumann, in 1918, probably with pencil and watercolour. Look at that electric blue! The way it’s applied, so linear and contained, feels like a coloring-in exercise, but with real sophistication. The paper has a visible texture, which adds a lovely, delicate grit to the image. Bakst doesn't obscure the process; instead, he celebrates the flatness of the page. The thin hatching that defines the shape of the pants is allowed to show through and gives them their volume. It reminds me of Erté, another artist who worked in fashion and theatre, creating images that are both decorative and deeply expressive. What’s interesting here is that Bakst’s approach embraces the ambiguity between drawing and design, between representation and pure surface. It's a reminder that art doesn't need to be one thing or another. It can be all things at once.