Costume design for the ballet Le Tricorne

Costume design for the ballet Le Tricorne by Pablo Picasso, created in 1920, represents a pivotal document of the artist's foundational engagement with theatrical design. Classified within the category of an Illustrated Book, this work belongs to a significant published portfolio dedicated to documenting the influential ballet Le Tricorne (The Three-Cornered Hat). The original production, which premiered in 1919 under the direction of Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, featured sets and costumes designed entirely by the Spanish master. This specific piece, produced the year following the ballet’s debut, was realized using the combined graphic techniques of collotype and pochoir.

Picasso’s designs for Le Tricorne reflected his deep connection to his Spanish cultural heritage, translating traditional Iberian motifs and folklore into robust, modernist stage imagery. The design is extracted from a comprehensive portfolio that comprises thirty-two collotypes; thirty-one of these foundation prints were meticulously hand-colored using the stencil process known as pochoir. This labor-intensive combination was highly valued for fine art prints in the early 1920s, allowing for the precise rendering of form (via collotype) coupled with the vibrant, flat fields of color achieved through stenciling. The resulting graphic quality is highly appropriate for reproducing the bold lines and theatricality inherent in the original costume sketches.

While Picasso is primarily known for his painting and sculpture, he produced an extensive body of high-quality prints throughout his career, often using the medium to document his major collaborative projects. This portfolio, showcasing the visual elements of one of the 20th century’s most celebrated theatrical productions, offers valuable insight into the application of modernist design to performance art. This important work, embodying the influence of Spanish artistry on the Parisian scene during the 1920s, resides in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.