Театральные костюмы для балетов времен Людовика XIII
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Ballet de Cour Costumes

These costume designs are part of a collection of 188 early 17th century drawings for ballet de cour costumes at the Theatre Museum. They come from the workshop of artist Daniel Rabin, which means that some may have been drawn by his assistants, but he would have overseen and controlled what was produced. Rabin was employed by the French King Louis XIII to create costumes for the elaborate and extravagant entertainments that were regularly staged at court. Louis was a passionate devotee of the ballet de cour, as these entertainments were called, and as much as 16,280 livres tournois (the equivalent of tens of thousands of pounds today) could be spent on costumes alone for a single production. The designs are working documents, made to show the army of craftsmen how the costumes, including hats, boots, jewellery, and so on, should look. The notes written around the drawings give specific information about fabrics or trimmings. Sometimes they show changes made when the designs were reused by a later designer.

African woman

This is a costume design from the Ballet Royal du Grand Bal de la Douairiere de Billebahaut (The Royal Ballet of the Dowager of Bilbao's Ball) performed at the French Court in 1626. The King himself, Louis XIII, was one of the dancers. One of the performances took place in the Louvre, which was then the Royal Palace. The three hour ballet showed an elaborate reception and ball, attended by peoples from all parts of the world. This provided a good excuse for a wide range of exotic costumes and styles of dance.

As there were no black courtiers or ballet dancers, the convention of the time was for French dancers to play the black characters with blackened legs and arms and a black face mask. The name 'La Ville' written above the design refers to the performer, who specialised in difficult and funny parts. Characters from other continents included American Indians, Asian ladies 'from the Seraglio' and inhabitants of 'cold climes'.

Created: Around 1626

Bonnetted Bottles

This is a costume design from a French Court Ballet of 1627, in which the King himself, Louis XIII was one of the dancers. Court ballets were enormously expensive affairs with great emphasis on fantastical costumes, and this one, called the Ballet du Serieux et Grotesque gave the designer Rene Bordier scope to exercise his satiric and imaginative powers in exaggerating and distorting the ordinary. (The so called 'serious' characters were quite as absurd as the 'grotesque' ones).

This design shows a giant bottle wearing a bonnet standing next to a woman wearing what was then, an old fashioned dress and headdress. In production, a group of women were hidden inside the bottles. They entered with a band of Swiss soldiers, and then revealed themselves as having come in place of wine.

Created: Around 1627

Dogman

This costume design is from the Ballet de la Delivrance de Renaud, (The Ballet of Renaud's Deliverance) performed at the French Court in 1617 when Louis XIII was king. The plot involved the capture of the hero, Renaud and his companions by the evil enchantress Alcina. Renaud breaks the spell and releases them by recognising and turning away from his youthful interest in pleasure and wealth. Audiences would have identified the virtuous Renaud with the King and his power, and a few might have noticed the irony in Louis spending a fortune on a performance that asserted he was above such things.

Alcina had six servants, two of which were dogs. The drawing of the head and the word 'peau' (skin), pointing to the arms and legs, show that the designer wanted the 'dog' parts of the costume to be as realistic as possible. The notes indicate that the rest of the body is rather grandly dressed, the costume in white satin trimmed with gold and the coat in black satin edged with silver and lined in red or white satin edged with gold.

Created: Around 1617

Drummer Costume Design

Le Ballet du Serieux et du Grotesque was a Court ballet performed in 1627 with King Louis XIII dancing a leading role. Several costume designs survive for characters with both military and musical overtones, including one with flutes and tambourines, and this one, based on drums. The design does not aim at a realistic lost limb, as the ‘missing’ leg is clearly visible. The false leg is a comment on the ‘mechanics’ of theatrical illusion rather than on the realities of warfare.

Created: Around 1625

Jacqueline

This costume design is for the Ballet des Fees de la Foret de Saint Germain (The Fairies of the St Germain Forest), performed at the Court of Louis XIII in 1625. It was one of the most extravagant of the burlesque ballets that Louis commissioned, with a fortune being spent on the costumes alone. The story was simple with little in the way of plot. Five absurd fairies from Saint Germain Forest come to see the Queen and ladies of Paris to admire their beauty and virtue. Each fairy mocked a different branch of science, and the style of their dancing and speeches mocked serious ballet.

Jacqueline was the fairy of the distracted mind. She led the frolics of an extraordinary entourage that included a band of half-witted fairies, who dreamt distractedly of love; a character called Cantankerous Alison; Macette the Caperer, and a group of doctors riding mules.

Created: Around 1625

Old Man

This costume design is for Le Ballet du Serieux et du Grotesque, performed at the French Royal Court in 1627. The King's brother danced the role of an old man with his walking frame, accompanied by four of his household. At this time, when dancing was an indispensable social accomplishment, most of the performers in the entertainments were courtiers, and often the King himself participated. The ballets demanded extensive rehearsals, but some nobles continued to perform regularly for over 20 years. If more specialised dancing was required, professional performers would be employed.

Created: Around 1627

The Entry of Music

This costume design is for the Ballet des Fees de la Foret de Saint Germain (The Fairies of the St Germain Forest), performed in 1625 at the Court of Louis XIII. It was one of the most extravagant of the burlesque ballets that Louis commissioned, with a fortune being spent on the costumes alone. The ballet was organised around the idea of a game. This enormous female figure led in the musicians in the opening scenes of the ballet. Everything in the costume shows her association with music, the baton and musical score, and the lutes hanging from her skirt. In her earring is a triangle, and her extraordinary headdress is another instrument called a theorbo. In another design for the same character, owned by the Louvre, eight musicians are each lifting a lute from her skirt.

Created: Around 1625

The Dowager of Bilbao

This costume design is for the Dowager of Bilbao (a dowager is a widow who retains her husband's title) in the Ballet Royal du Grand Bal de la Douairiere de Billebahaut performed at the French Royal Court in 1626. The ballet is about a huge ball to which the Dowager has invited exotic guests from all over the world. The grotesque old woman herself is thought to be a satire on the old-fashioned style of an earlier Queen who had given such a ball in 1612. The part was danced by a man whose name, Mr Joly, is written above the design. Given the huge platforms under his shoes, his role clearly did not call for energetic dancing.

Created: Around 1626

The Hocricane

This costume design is for a Hocricane in the court ballet Le Ballet Royal du Grand Bal de la Douairiere de Billebahaut (The Royal Ballet of the Dowager of Bilbao's Ball) performed at the French Court in 1626.

Such productions were enormously expensive and featured fantastical and lavish costumes. This particular costume may have been a joke at the King's expense. Once, when his servants found themselves underpaid, they appeared before him half-dressed, claiming that their income was so meagre they could not afford to clothe themselves. Another character in the ballet appeared as a huge pair of much repaired trousers with a head.

Created: Around 1626