Parisian Balls of the 1920s

André Lhote (French; 1885–1962) (figure) and Iliazd (Ilia Zdanevich; French, born Georgia, 1894–1975), (typography)
Poster: Fête de nuit à Montparnasse, Bal costume (Night party in Montparnasse, costume ball), Salle Bullier, Paris (June 20, 1922), 1922
Lithograph, 54 7/8 x 39 3/8" (139.25 x 100 cm)

1920s Paris was a site of rule-breaking. The affordable city was filled with expatriates embracing freedom and revelry after the horrors of the First World War. Between 1922 and 1929, Parisian balls reached their peak, as various artistic associations and unions hosted their own events.

Among these was L’Union des Artistes Russes à Paris (The Union of Russian Artists in Paris), founded in May 1921 to serve the large number of expatriates who had fled Russia due to war and revolution. The most successful initiative of this association was the organization of charity balls to raise mutual aid funds for its less well-off members and their families. Organized under the supervision of the Futurist poet, novelist, and playwright Ilia Zdanevich—better known as Iliazd—these events attracted an international array of Russian, French, and other experimental poets, artists, and musicians.

One of the best documented of the Union’s ephemeral events was the Grand Bal des Artistes Travesti Transmental (Grand Trans-Rational Masquerade Ball), organized by Mikhail Larionov. The “trans-rationality” of the title referred to the radical zaum principles of Russian Futurist poet Aleksei Kruchenykh. The ball began at 9 p.m. on February 23, 1923, and ended at 5 a.m. the following morning. Contributors to the décor included Tristan Tzara, Ossip Zadkine, Serge Fotinsky, Serge Sudeikin, Vladimir Izdebsky, and the American artist Gerald Murphy. Dancers performed in costumes designed by Natalia Goncharova.

Both Larionov and Goncharova, who had settled in Paris in 1917, designed promotional materials for this event, a selection of which are featured below.

Natalia Goncharova (Russian, 1881–1962)
Proof and poster: Grand Bal de Nuit (Grand night ball), Salle Bullier, Paris (February 23, 1923), 1923
Organized by: L’Union des Artistes Russes à Paris
Both: Lithograph, 47 x 31” (119.5 x 79 cm)
Note: This poster is based on Goncharova’s painting The Bathers, a triptych of 1922 (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). The artist’s interest in folk art and in Cubism are here deployed to capture the energy and vitality of Parisian nightlife.

Mikhail Larionov (Russian, 1881–1964)
Printed materials for the Grand Bal des Artistes Travesti Transmental (Grand Trans-Rational Masquerade Ball), Salle Bullier, Paris (February 23, 1923), 1923
Organized by: L’Union des Artistes Russes à Paris
Ticket: Letterpress, 8 3/4 x 10 7/8” (22 x 27.5 cm)
Flyer: Letterpress, 11 3/4 x 9" (29.75 x 22.75 cm)
Program: Letterpress, 11 3/4 x 9" (29.75 x 22.75 cm), closed
Note: The stylized, abstracted figure that appears on Larionov’s materials for this ball resembles a figure he designed to illustrate Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poem Solntse (The Sun) the same year. 

Victor Barthe (Russian, 1887–1954)
Maquette for poster: Bal de l’aide Amicale aux Artistes (Artists’ charity ball), [Paris] (May 23, 1924), 1924
Gouache on paper, 47 1/2 x 32 3/4" (120.6 x 83 cm)

Auguste Herbin (French, 1882–1960)
Poster: Bal de la Grande Ourse (The Big Dipper Costume Ball), Salle Bullier, Paris (May 8, 1925), 1925
Organized by: L’Union des Artistes Russes à Paris
Lithograph, 48 1/8 x 30” (122.6 x 76.2 cm)

Iurii Annenkov (Russian, 1889–1974)
Poster: Bal des Deux Dianes, 4eme Bal annuel travesti (Ball of Two Dianes, Fourth Annual Costume Ball), Salle Bullier (March 19, 1926), 1926
Organized by: L’Union des Artistes Russes à Paris
Lithograph, 15 x 10 3/8” (38.1 x 26.4 cm)

May 13, 2025