The Ballets Russes first performed Cleopatra at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on May 19, 1909, with sets and costumes designed by Léon Bakst. The production became part of the company’s repertoire and was performed repeatedly until the sets and costumes were destroyed in a fire in 1917. In 1918 the ballet was redesigned with sets by Robert Delaunay and costumes by his wife, Sonia Delaunay (see MMA 2007.49.36). A key figure of Orphism, Delaunay applied the intense color principles of the movement to his set designs; the production premiered at the Coliseum Theatre in London on September 5, 1918.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Stage Design for Cleopatra
Artist:Robert Delaunay (French, Paris 1885–1941 Montpellier)
Date:ca. 1918
Medium:Opaque watercolor and metallic paint over graphite on paper
Dimensions:13 5/8 × 18 5/8 in. (34.6 × 47.3 cm)
Classification:Drawings
Credit Line:Bequest of William S. Lieberman, 2005
Accession Number:2007.49.35
Inscription: Signed (lower right, in graphite): r. delaunay
William S. Lieberman, New York (by 1966–d. 2005; on extended loan 1966–at least 1978 to the Museum of Modern Art, New York; his bequest to MMA)
Spoleto. Palazzo Collicola. "Ninth Festival of Two Worlds: Three Centuries of Theatre Design. Painters for the Theatre," June 25–July 17, 1966; tour circulated by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, through 1970, no. 9 (as "Cleopatra: Decor for the Ballet," lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Anonymous extended loan).
New York. Cordier and Ekstrom Gallery. "Stravinsky-Diaghilev," May 30–June 22, 1973, no. 17 (as "'Cléopatre.' Decor," lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York).
Museum of Modern Art, New York. "Painters for the Theatre: An Invitation to the Theatre Arts Collection," November 1973–January 1974, no catalogue (typed checklist no. 13; as "'The Temple Portal' for 'Cleopatra,'" extended loan).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Diaghilev: Costumes and Designs of the Ballets Russes," November 24, 1978–June 30, 1979, unnum. brochure (as "Temple Portal for 'Cléopâtre'," lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Extended Loan).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of French Art Deco," August 4, 2009–January 23, 2011, no catalogue (on view until June 21, 2010).
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. "Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909-1929: When Art Danced with Music," May 12–September 2, 2013, extended to October 6, 2013, unnumbered cat. (pl. 164).
Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. "Hymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes," March 6–June 2, 2019, no. 16 (as "Set Design for 'Cléopâtre'").
George Dorris. "Looking at Dance History: Three Exhibitions." Dance Chronicle 2, no. 3 (1978), p. 240.
Juliet Bellow inDiaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909–1929: When Art Danced with Music. Ed. Jane Pritchard. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. London and Washington, 2013, pp. 200, 254, colorpl. 164.
Juliet Bellow. Modernism on Stage: The Ballets Russes and the Parisian Avant-Garde. Surrey, 2013, pp. 141, 164 n. 36.
John E. Bowlt inHymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes. Ed. Clare Fitzgerald. Exh. cat., Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. New York, 2019, pp. 72, 120, no. 16, fig. 3-21 (color).
Kenneth Lapatin, Rachel Herschman, and Clare Fitzgerald inHymn to Apollo: The Ancient World and the Ballets Russes. Ed. Clare Fitzgerald. Exh. cat., Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. New York, 2019, p. 87.
Waleria Dorogova inSonia Delaunay: Living Art. Ed. Waleria Dorogova and Laura Microulis. Exh. cat., Bard Graduate Center Gallery. New York, 2024, pp. 140, 513, no. 29, fig. 6.7 (color).
Robert Delaunay (French, Paris 1885–1941 Montpellier)
ca. 1915–16
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