IRINA STENBERG (1905–1985) Costume Design for Philippe Bridau in Provincial Life, a Play after Honoré de Balzac, Griboedov Theatre, Tbilisi

signed in Cyrillic and dated ‘I. Stenberg / 1938’ (lower right), inscribed in Cyrillic ‘Balzac / Provincialnaya istoriya’ (lower left) and ‘Filipp Brido’ (along the lower edge) watercolour on paper 32 × 19 cm. executed in 1938 This costume design by Irina Stenberg was created for the production Provincial Life, staged at the A.S. Griboedov Russian Drama Theatre in Tbilisi. Stenberg worked at the theatre from 1936 to 1956 as a stage and costume designer. Among the notable productions of this period was Provincial Life, in which the leading role was performed by the actor Anatoly Smiranin, whose passionate and romantic interpretation was highly praised by the theatre-going public of Tiflis. The play was based on the novel La Rabouilleuse (1842) by Honoré de Balzac—also known as The Black Sheep or The Two Brothers—one of the works in Balzac’s celebrated cycle La Comédie humaine. The story centers on the Bridau family and their struggle to regain a lost inheritance after a series of misfortunes. In her theatrical sketches of the 1930s and 1940s, Stenberg showed a strong interest in creating psychological portraits of her characters.