Costume Design for Cleopatra - Sonia Delaunay
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Description
A striking costume design by Sonia Delaunay for the 1918 production of Cleopatra, featuring geometric patterns and metallic textures.
Sonia Delaunay created this costume for the 1918 production of Cleopatra, a ballet staged in Madrid. The design reflects her engagement with the principles of simultaneity, a concept she explored through the interaction of colour and geometric form. By applying these theories to theatrical attire, she moved beyond traditional stage dress, treating the human form as a kinetic surface for abstract composition.
The costume features a structured bodice and skirt, utilising concentric circles and vertical bands to create a sense of rhythm. Delaunay employed a palette of ochre, gold, and muted earth tones, punctuated by bands of colour that suggest the influence of her earlier experiments with light and motion. The materials, including metallic elements and varied fabrics, were chosen to catch stage lighting, ensuring the garment functioned as an active participant in the performance rather than a static object.
This work demonstrates the application of avant-garde aesthetics to the performing arts. Delaunay often collaborated with figures such as Sergei Diaghilev, and her contributions to the Ballets Russes remain documented examples of her multidisciplinary approach. The design avoids literal historical representation, opting instead for a stylised interpretation that prioritises the visual impact of shape and texture. The garment is constructed with a focus on symmetry and repetition, creating a visual balance that aligns with her broader body of work in textile and fashion design. By integrating these elements, Delaunay transformed the stage into a space where art and movement converged, reflecting her interest in the synthesis of different creative disciplines.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Costume Design for Cleopatra - Sonia Delaunay
Artist Biography
Sonia Delaunay
She was born Sara Stern in 1885 in Hradyzk, Ukraine. At five, her wealthy uncle Henri Terk adopted her and took her to St Petersburg. She grew up with access to art collections, European travel, and a good education. She studied in Karlsruhe, moved to Paris in 1905, and absorbed the Fauvists and Post-Impressionists. After meeting Robert, they developed what Guillaume Apollinaire named Orphism: a variant of Cubism built on pure colour, geometric abstraction, and dynamic movement. Their shared foundation was Chevreul's colour theory of simultaneous contrast, where adjacent colours alter each other's appearance.
In 1913, she sewed the simultaneous dress by hand from scraps of men's tailoring cloth, velvet, silk, and fur. It was designed to match the energy of the foxtrot and tango at Le Bal Bullier, a popular Parisian dance hall. Apollinaire urged readers to visit the Bal Bullier on Thursdays when the Delaunays arrived wearing her creations. The same year, she collaborated with Blaise Cendrars on La Prose du Transsiberien, a two-metre vertical fold-out combining his poem with her abstract colour panels. It is described as the first complete fusion of poetry and painting.
She treated painting, textiles, and fashion as a single practice. She set up a studio in their apartment, opened a fashion house called Sonia, and had her textile line picked up by one of Europe's biggest fabric manufacturers. In 1964, she became the first living woman to have a retrospective at the Louvre. She was seventy-nine. She died in 1979, aged ninety-four.
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