“Pellan outdid himself, creating one of the “grandest gestures” in Canadian art by designing the costumes and sets for Les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent’s production of Shakespeare’s Le soir des rois (Twelfth Night).” [1]
This is an extraordinary opportunity to purchase a collection of 5 mixed media drawings of costumes by Alfred Pellan designed for Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night / la Nuit des Rois, for performances at Stratford and le théâtre Port-Royal de la Place des Arts de Montréal in December 1968 and January 1969. The 5 mixed media drawings are available for $20,000.
The history linking Alfred Pellan to these costumes dates back to 1946, when he created drawings not only for costumes but also for the sets of a production of Le Soir des Rois, the French translation by Victor Hugo of Shakespeare's play Twelfth Night performed at Montreal’s Théatre Gésu by Les Compagnons de Saint-Laurent. The resulting costumes may perhaps have been better anticipated by a 21st-century audience accustomed to the enchantment of Le Cirque du Soleil. According to available sources today, the 1946 production was rather spectacular and somewhat controversial.
Fully 20 years after he originally designed the costumes “Pellan refreshes his drawings, touches up the sets and accessories to meet the requirements of the new staging, and even adds three costumes for minor characters [Pellan rafraîchit ses dessins, retouche les décors et accessoires pour satisfaire aux exigences de la nouvelle mise en scène et ajoute même trois costumes pour des personnages de figuration.]” [2] This generation of Pellan’s artistry is accompanied by wonderful photo documentation including the image pasted in at the beginning of this offer, showing Pellan with “our” 1ère suivante (1st Lady-in-waiting) and Soldat ‘C’ in the background.
Alfred Pellan may have been the first important Canadian graphic artist who put his creative talents into theater costume design. In France, particularly for ballet, there was a celebrated contribution of costume designs by modern masters including Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Marie Laurencin, and Raoul Dufy.
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Footnotes:
[1] Maria Rosa Lehmann, "Alfred Pellan: Biography," Art Canada Institute, https://www.aci-iac.ca/art-books/alfred-pellan/biography/ (Accessed April 16, 2024)
[2] Germain Lefebvre, Pellan et "la Nuit des Rois" (La Prairie: Éditions Marcel Broquet, 1986), 215. Jeu, no. 47, 1988, 29.
Alfred Pellan2ème Suivante (2nd Lady-in-waiting), 1967Mixed media19 x 11 1/4 in
Alfred PellanOlivia -C- (Lady Olivia), 1967Mixed media
Alfred PellanSir André (Idiot) -C- (Sir Andrew Aguecheek), 1967Mixed media17 3/4 x 11 3/8 in
