Le coq d'or: Natalia Goncharova's Designs for the Ballets Russes

Natalia Goncharova (1881–1962), agent provocateur of the Moscow pre–World War I art scene, was invited by Serge Diaghilev to design stage sets and costumes for the Ballet Russes production of Le coq d’or. In 1914 the opera-ballet premiered in Paris and London. Goncharova’s fresh approach to popular Russian art, her familiarity with contemporary French painting, and—not least—her sense of humor qualified the artist to become a mediator between the Russian avant-garde and the West. Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, based on Pushkin’s fairy tale and political satire The Golden Cockerel, inspired a colorful decor that established Goncharova as a leading painter cum stage designer. Her success paved the way for further collaborations between the Ballets Russes and painters such as Mikhail Larionov, Pablo Picasso, and Henri Matisse.

The exhibition brings together Goncharova’s stage and costume designs, curtain studies, and preparatory drawings from the Harvard Theatre Collection; the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum, San Antonio; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Organized by Joachim Homann, 2001–2003 Michalke Curatorial Intern in the Busch-Reisinger Museum.

Funded in part by the Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum.