Heroic collecting from the great days of Russian stage design

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This comprehensive source on Russian stage design in a crucial period is ‘a joy to behold’, says Amy Sargeant

Encyclopedia of Russian Stage Design 1880 – 1930 by John E. Bowlt, Nina and Nikita D. Lobanov-Rostovsky

Comprising more than 1,000 entries, this volume celebrates the dedication with which Nina and Nikita D. Lobanov-Rostovsky have devotedly amassed a collection of theatrical material during their life together. John E. Bowlt is respected as a leading authority on visual culture in Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The book covers set and costume designs, written documents, caricatures, painted and photographic portraits of artists, self-portraits and portraits of Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky himself.

The poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930) sits for his friend, the Futurist painter David Burliuk (1882–1967), and is the subject of a photo-montage, in the manner of Constructivist artist Aleksandr Rodchenko (1891–1956). Programmes and posters (notably by Rodchenko and his fellow Constructivist Aleksei Gan (c.1890–c.1941), but many designed anonymously) are as interesting for their typography as for their record of productions staged at a particular time and place, at home and abroad.

Entries include biographical and bibliographical information and useful plot summaries, in addition to provenances, curatorial data and expert commentary. Often this conveys the perennially transient nature of theatrical life alongside the history of Russian theatre in the specific period covered: whether from European capital to European capital, or from Moscow Circus to Workers’ Clubs in the provinces, costumes had to be packed and transported. Costume changes behind the scenes gave way to costumes changed in front of the audience.

Much of the collection will be familiar to aficionados of Russian stage design, from loans made to major exhibitions, such as the V&A’s centenary Diaghilev show. A variant of the design by Cubo-Futurist artist Natalia Goncharova  (1881–1962) for the 1926 Firebird   backcloth (now in the V&A) is illustrated.

There is predictably extensive documentation of ‘big names’, including Léon Bakst, designer of many costumes and sets for  Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and various members of the highly artistic Benois family. As the authors comment, the enormous cycle of variants and versions of designs by Alexandre Benois (1870–1960) for several interpretations of Petrouchka ‘would warrant a separate compilation and analysis’. Alexandre’s costume drawings, ranging from the folkloric to the exotic, delightfully evoke the characters performed; Nicola’s portraits remind the reader that the opera singer Feodor Chaliapin was revered for his ability to transform himself in a given role, for his acting, as much as his singing. There is a strong sense of a Russian tradition and an enthusiasm for the theatrical arts being sustained by émigré communities.

Some of the entries serve as a reminder of the place of theatre in the careers of painters (Nicholas Roerich, Kazimir Malevich,   Marc Chagall, Sonia Delaunay,   Mikhail Larionov) or of sculptors (Vladimir Tatlin, Antoine Pevsner and his brother Naum Gabo). Sometimes entries cover the contribution of personnel better known for their work in cinema, such as Sergei Eisenstein. Alexandra Exter’s  definitive Martian costumes for the 1924 film Aelita are included alongside her stage designs (Don Juan and The Merchant of Venice).

As an encyclopaedia, to be reliably consulted, this volume will prove an invaluable source for any Anglophone interested in Russian culture and history and, more broadly, for anyone interested in theatre as a crucible for artistic revolution. It is an admirable achievement and a joy to behold.

Encyclopedia of Russian Stage Design 1880–1930  by John E. Bowlt, Nina and Nikita D. Lobanov-Rostovsky is published by Antique Collectors’ Club, 2013. 500 pp., 1,200 colour illus,£75.00. ISBN 978-1851-497195