Costume design for the ballet Le Tricorne

Costume design for the ballet Le Tricorne by Pablo Picasso, created in 1920, represents the artist's deep engagement with theatrical production and stage design following World War I. This specific design belongs to a portfolio produced shortly after the successful 1919 premiere of the ballet, which was commissioned by Serge Diaghilev’s revolutionary Ballets Russes. The work showcases the Spanish artist’s ability to fuse his developing neoclassical style with motifs drawn directly from Spanish folk tradition and theatrical history, reflecting his deep cultural heritage.

The piece is technically sophisticated, executed through the demanding processes of collotype and pochoir. The collotype foundation allowed for the high-fidelity photographic reproduction of Picasso’s original gouache and ink designs, while the pochoir, a labor-intensive stencil technique, was applied by hand to lend the final printed edition a vivid color and texture close to the original artwork. This meticulous attention to detail ensured that these prints functioned not merely as reproductions but as significant artworks in their own right. The design is classified specifically as an Illustrated Book, representing one of thirty-two collotypes issued in a commemorative portfolio to document this seminal modernist collaboration, which also featured a score by composer Manuel de Falla.

This important example from 1920 demonstrates Picasso's transitionary style following his radical Cubist period. While the costume sketches retain a sense of geometric structure, they simultaneously embrace the clarity, weightiness, and traditional figuration often associated with his subsequent classical period. The artist utilized clear outlines and bold forms suitable for the stage, highlighting his expertise in translating complex artistic visions into functional performance components. The collaboration on Le Tricorne remains one of the most famous examples of early 20th-century modernist stage design, uniting the visual arts, music, and dance. This foundational document by the Spanish master is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, where it continues to serve as an essential reference in the study of performance art history.