Michel Larionov
Costume for a buffoon's wife in The Buffoon 1921

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
© Michel Larionov, 1921/ADAGP. Reproduced by permission of VISCOPY Ltd., Sydney 1999.

This costume was worn by the wife of one of the seven buffoons. Larionov used the fractured forms of Cubism and Futurism in his designs. The angled lines, shifting planes and dynamism of the set were echoed in the dancers' costumes, to the extent that dancers and set appeared to be integrated. Stiffened fabric attached to a cane frame shaped the costumes, while appliqué and hand painting enlivened the plain material.