Portrait of a Woman (Comtesse from "Dame de Pique") 1937

Curator: Mstislav Dobujinsky's "Portrait of a Woman," a design for the Comtesse in Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades," offers a glimpse into early 20th-century stagecraft. Editor: Woah, she looks like she's about to cast a spell! That incredible costume, all sharp angles and menacing fur – it just screams 'don't mess with me'. Curator: Indeed, Dobujinsky’s rendering captures the Comtesse's power and decay, reflective of the opera’s themes around class, obsession, and societal decline. Editor: I love how the stark black and white heightens the drama. It's like a visual shout, perfectly encapsulating her character's twisted elegance and impending doom. You can almost hear the tragic aria. Curator: The costume, with its exaggerated features, speaks volumes about the gendered expectations and the performance of power assigned to older women in this era. Editor: Seeing the layers here, the costume and its context, really makes you think about how we tell stories through appearances – it's almost a lesson in visual rhetoric, right? Curator: Absolutely, and Dobujinsky compels us to confront how power dynamics shape our understanding of identity. Editor: It's been fascinating to unravel the layers of meaning woven into this character design. Curator: It has been a unique journey into understanding the opera's visual and social language.