Nijinsky's Faun Costume in 'L'Apres Midi d'un Faune' by Claude Debussy from the front cover of the programme for the 7th season of the 'Ballets Russes' 1912

Léon Bakst designed Nijinsky's Faun Costume in 'L'Apres Midi d'un Faune' for the 7th season of the 'Ballets Russes'. The shapes are so simplified, and the colors so graphic that it’s like a Matisse cut-out gone wild. Look at the blue, it's not just blue, it's alive with swirls and dots, like a psychedelic dream of ancient Greece. The body of the faun is all earthy tones and awkward angles, so unlike the flowing, romantic ideas about ballet. The costume becomes a character, a skin, a way of seeing and moving that's totally new. It's as if the dancer becomes the painting, blurring the lines between art and life, between human and animal, between what we expect and what we get. This piece reminds me of the futurist painter Giacomo Balla, particularly in the way that both artists attempted to capture motion, and the artists embrace of bold color combinations. Like all good art, this costume, this image, isn't just about one thing; it's a question mark.