Costume design for the ballet Le Tricorne

Costume design for the ballet Le Tricorne is a visually dynamic print created by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso in 1920. This work is not a unique drawing but rather one element from a significant portfolio produced for Le Tricorne, which contained thirty-two collotypes, thirty-one of which were enhanced with the pochoir technique. Pochoir, or stencil printing, allowed for the precise application of color onto the collotype base, lending the finished illustration the vibrant texture and quality often associated with an original watercolor or gouache design.

This design provides crucial insight into Picasso’s contributions to avant-garde theater during the interwar period. The ballet Le Tricorne (known in English as The Three-Cornered Hat) premiered in London in 1919 and was a collaboration with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, featuring music by Manuel de Falla and choreography by Léonide Massine. Picasso served as the primary designer for the sets and costumes. His theatrical designs marked a significant phase in his output, blending the principles of modernist abstraction with a renewed focus on figuration and Spanish cultural motifs derived from his classical training.

Classified specifically as an Illustrated Book, this example of fine art prints captures the energetic spirit of the 1920 cultural revival in Europe. Picasso often utilized printmaking to ensure the broad dissemination of his theatrical concepts, making these vivid costume renderings accessible to a wider audience. The illustrations from this portfolio are celebrated for their sharp draftsmanship and bold use of color, reflecting the dramatic vitality of the subject matter. The visual documentation captured in these prints ensured that, long after the stage production closed, the designs remained available for study, often entering the public domain in subsequent reproductions. This impression is held within the extensive collection of modern art at the Museum of Modern Art, recognizing its significance as a cross-disciplinary masterpiece.