LEON BAKST (1866–1924) Costume design for Ida Rubinstein’s first independent production, ‘Le Martyre de saint Sebastien’ (1911), 1912

signed and dated in pencil ‘L Bakst 1912’ (lower right) watercolour, gouache, pencil and silver paint on paper 30.7. x 16.5 cm Executed in 1912, the present work is a costume design for Le Martyre de saint Sébastien (The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian), Ida Rubinstein’s first independent theatrical production, in which she performed the title role. Written by the Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, with music by Claude Debussy, the five-act musical mystery play featured choreography by Michel Fokine and sets and costumes by Leon Bakst. Serge Diaghilev is also reported to have assisted with its organisation. The production premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 22 May 1911. Inspired by the legend of Saint Sebastian, an early Christian martyr persecuted under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the work combined drama, music and dance in an elaborate theatrical spectacle, drawing on the tradition of medieval religious mystery plays. The premiere provoked considerable controversy, particularly over the casting of Rubinstein, a woman of Jewish heritage, as a Christian saint. The Archbishop of Paris discouraged Catholics from attending, while the production attracted both admiration for its artistic ambition and criticism, reflecting the divided reception of Rubinstein’s theatrical ventures.