Research Catalog

Pillar of fire costume designs for Ballet Theatre.

Title
Pillar of fire [drawing] : costume designs for Ballet Theatre.
Author
Mielziner, Jo, 1901-1976.
Publication
[1942?]

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16 Items

StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 1Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 2Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 3Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 4Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 5Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 6Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 7Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 8Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 9Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 10Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 11Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 12Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 13Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 14Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 15Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance
Still imageSupervised use *MGZGA Mie J Pil 16Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance

Details

Description
  • 3 drawings : pencil on yellow paper; 32 x 21 cm. or smaller.
  • 5 drawings : gouache ;
  • 1 drawing : gouache with pencil drawing on verso ;
  • 7 drawings : gouache and pencil ;
Subjects
Genre/Form
  • Set design drawings.
  • Costume design drawings.
Note
  • 16 costume designs for Ballet Theatre's production of Pillar of fire, choreographed by Antony Tudor.
Credits (note)
  • Choreography, Antony Tudor ; music, Arnold Schönberg (Verklärte Nacht) ; scenery and costumes, Jo Mielziner ; first performed by Ballet Theatre in 1942.
Source (note)
  • Dance Special Acquisitions Fund;
Biography (note)
  • Pillar of fire (choreography, Antony Tudor; music, Arnold Schönberg) was first performed by Ballet Theatre in 1942. Its cast of characters includes the heroine, Hagar, her older sister and younger sister, maiden ladies out walking, lovers-in-innocence and lovers-in-experience, and the young man from the house opposite, who leads Hagar astray.
  • Jo Mielziner was an eminent stage designer and theatre architect. Though most of his work was done for plays and musicals, he occasionally created designs for dance productions.
Contents
  • Nos. 1 & 2: Two drawings of male figures in dance movement. No. 1 probably depicts the Young man from the house opposite (a role created by Hugh Laing), dressed in shirt, vest, and trousers -- No. 2 depicts a man in coat and trousers.
  • No. 3: Costume design for the Elder sister in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts a woman in a high-necked dress with leg-o'-mutton sleeves and a hat decorated with birds' wings. Initialed at lower right: "JM." Inscribed at lower right: "Pillar of fire." Inscribed at upper right: "Elder sister. Same color as 1st design." This inscription has been partly erased ; another inscription above it has been almost fully erased and is illegible.
  • Nos. 4 & 5: Two designs for Hugh Laing in the role of the Young man from the house opposite in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. No. 4 shows a male figure jumping with both arms upraised, wearing a reddish-brown coat, magenta tie, and dark grey trousers. Inscribed at lower right: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Ballet Theater's Pillar of fire" and at middle right: "Color for Hugh Laing coat." Four color swatches on paper are attached. Inscribed on verso: "Pillar of fire #3." -- No. 5 shows a male figure in arabesque, wearing a white (?) shirt highlighted in yellow, magenta vest, and dark grey tights. Inscribed at lower left: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Hugh Laing (without coat) for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of fire."
  • Nos. 6, 7 & 8: Three designs for male dancers playing Lovers in experience in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. No. 6 shows a man facing right, left arm outstretched, dressed in beige shirt, brown vest, and ocher tights. Inscribed at lower right: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Lovers of experience for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of Fire." -- No. 7 shows a man facing left, right arm extended downwards, dressed in beige shirt, red vest, and salmon tights or trousers. Inscribed at lower right: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Lover of experience for Ballet Theater's Pillar of Fire." Inscribed on verso: "Lover of experience." -- No. 8, which has touches of pencil, shows a man facing left, right arm outstretched, wearing an ocher shirt, beige vest, and red tights. Inscribed at lower left: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Lover of experience for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of Fire."
  • No. 9: Costume designs for female dancers playing Lovers in Innocence in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts five dresses, without figures, drawn in dance movement; two dresses include legs of the same color. Four of the dresses have simple short, probably puffed, sleeves; the fifth dress has long leg-o'-mutton sleeves. They are variously colored greyish blue with white highlights, lilac, ochre with white dots, plum, and greyish green. On verso is a pencil drawing of the short-sleeved dress with more detailed delineation of neckline, sleeves, bodice, and sash. Inscribed at bottom: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Lovers of innocence girls for Ballet Theater's Pillar of Fire." Inscribed at top, with indicating arrow: "Lighter." Inscribed on verso: "Lovers of innocence, girls."
  • Nos. 10 & 11: Two costume designs for the principal role of Hagar, created by Nora Kaye, in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. No. 10 shows Hagar in arabesque facing right, in a high-necked green dress with leg-o'-mutton sleeves and white bands across the bodice. Inscribed at upper right: Hagar; and at lower right: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Hagar for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of fire." Attached at upper left is a smaller drawing in pencil on yellow paper, showing details of the bodice -- No. 11, inscribed "for color only," shows Hagar in arabesque facing left, wearing a high-necked green dress with leg-o'mutton sleeves, white bands on the bodice and forearms, and buttons down the front of the bodice. Signed at upper left "J. Mielziner" and inscribed at bottom: "for color only, petticoat color, costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Hagar for Ballet Theater's Pillar of fire." Inscribed on verso: "Hagar, Nora Kaye."
  • No. 12: Costume design for the Youngest sister in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts a female figure with loose shoulder-length black hair, wearing a knee-length white-dotted pink dress with full elbow-length sleeves, a dark pink sash, and a flounce at the hem of the skirt. Signed and dated at upper right: J Mielziner, 1942. Inscribed at bottom: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Ballet Theater's Pillar of Fire." Inscribed on verso: "hair back bow, darker pink for [end]."
  • No. 13: Costume design for the female dancers playing Lovers in experience in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts a female figure sur les pointes, with loose brown hair, in a low-cut dark red dress with only one sleeve; the bodice appears to be partly torn away to show a green striped corset with white trimming. Photographs of the actual costume suggest that this design was altered and simplified. Signed and dated at lower right: J Mielziner, 1942. Inscribed at lower left: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Lovers of Experience girls for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of fire."
  • No. 14: Costume design for the character called simply the Friend (a role created by the choreographer himself) in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts a male figure facing right with left arm outstretched, wearing a brown suit with a checked pattern, with black trim, over a yellow vest and green bow tie. Inscribed at lower right: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Man friend of family for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of fire."
  • No. 15: Costume design for the male dancers playing Lovers in innocence in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts a male figure in light brown jacket and green tights. Signed and dated at upper left: J Mielziner, 1942. Inscribed at lower right: "Costume drawing by Jo Mielziner for Lovers of innocence boys for Ballet Theatre's Pillar of fire."
  • No. 16: Costume design, probably for one of the townspeople in Antony Tudor's Pillar of fire. Depicts a mature female figure in a floor-length purple dress with leg-o'-mutton sleeves and a high neck, with decorations in yellow, black, white, and green. She wears a purple hat with a green band and black and white ornaments. Inscribed on verso: "less detail, grayer color."
Call Number
*MGZGA Mie J Pil 1-16
OCLC
968151503
Author
Mielziner, Jo, 1901-1976.
Title
Pillar of fire [drawing] : costume designs for Ballet Theatre.
Imprint
[1942?]
Type of Content
still image
Type of Medium
unmediated
Credits
Choreography, Antony Tudor ; music, Arnold Schönberg (Verklärte Nacht) ; scenery and costumes, Jo Mielziner ; first performed by Ballet Theatre in 1942.
Biography
Pillar of fire (choreography, Antony Tudor; music, Arnold Schönberg) was first performed by Ballet Theatre in 1942. Its cast of characters includes the heroine, Hagar, her older sister and younger sister, maiden ladies out walking, lovers-in-innocence and lovers-in-experience, and the young man from the house opposite, who leads Hagar astray.
Jo Mielziner was an eminent stage designer and theatre architect. Though most of his work was done for plays and musicals, he occasionally created designs for dance productions.
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Research Call Number
*MGZGA Mie J Pil 1-16
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