Léon Bakst
Costume design for the Queen and her Page in The Sleeping Princess 1921

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

Bakst instructed the costumiers by annotating his drawing. He described in French the required materials, colours and details of the costumes. 'Light-blue silk velvet embroidered in silver relief, lined with padded ermine with big tails', the artist said of the Queen's cloak. Bakst wrote that 'The page must be played by a little girl 10-11 years old!' In the bottom right, he offered a possible accessory - a delicate little white dog on a lead, 'if you like!!'