The World of Art

“Bathing in the sun” by Konstantin Somov

As you may know art and crafts are an inseparable part of Son Trava’s identity. They inspire us as much as the beauty of nature, starry nights and a poetry. This is why we would love to present to you some of our most favorite artists, whose works has influenced the brand’s philosophy and aesthetics. Make yourself comfortable and let us take you to the first decades of the 20th century, when the magic has happened.

“World of art” (rus. “Mir Iskusstva”) was one of the most important artistic movements and a magazine of the same name (edited by Sergei Diaghilev), which played a significant part in shaping the European modern art. The association was founded in Saint-Petersburg by students of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts which included names like Alexandr Benois, Leon Bakst, Eugene Lansere and Konstantin Somov, whose sensual, romantic and sometimes sarcastic evocation of old times touches our hearts every time we look at his artworks.

“Miriskusniki” (memebers of the art group) were inspired by the Russian folk and the 18th century Rococo. They aimed to present the world as an illusion or a dream - not reality - so the main motives they used were carnivals, masquerades and fairy tales. To emphasize the idea of painting to be a magical experience they preferred light, airy effects of  watercolors  and  gouache to the oli painting.

Mikhail Fokin and Vera Fokina in the ballet Scheherazade, 1914

We all know that ballet has a special place in Russian culture. Ballets Russes was a Parisian dance troupe (1909-1929) led by mentioned above Sergei Diaghilev, who challenged everything Europe knew about ballet before.

He completely changed the perspective of a dance, where classical choreography and traditional stage design had been a norm. The Ballets Russes performances were full of vivid colors, staggeringly intricate costumes and fancy designs. Impresario Diaghilev cooperated with greatest artist like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró or Coco Chanel, but the most breathtaking costumes were created by Léon Bakst.

Costume for the “Cléopâtre” by Leon Bakst, 1909

His opulent, wildly colorful sets and swirling Art Nouveau patterns were heavily inspired by Ancient East, exoticism and Russian ethnic. The costumes were astonishing not only because of their beauty and variety of details, but also because of the modern shapes never seen in ballets performances before.

Bakst designed costumes for several masterpieces like Cléopâtre (1909), Shéhérazade (1910), Le Carnaval (1910), Narcisse (1911), Daphnis et Chloé (1912) and many more. He is remembered for his surreal vision and decadent designs, which had a great impact on fashion even today.