Design for a Stage Prop from "Phaedre"

In addition to being a painter and draftsman of renown in St. Petersburg and Paris, Leon Bakst was also a costume and stage designer for much of his career. This drawing predominantly executed in gouache, with inscriptions for measurements in black chalk, was a stage prop for a production of Gabriele d'Annunzio's "Phaedre," which premiered 6 June 1923 at the Paris Opera. Bakst produced many costume and stage designs for this production, including a set design, currently in the Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris.