{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1357641"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1357641/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2016JL0619/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2016JL0619/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2016JL0619","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1357641","accessionNumber":"S.315-2016","objectType":"Costume design","titles":[{"title":"Costume design by Louis Kahan (1905-2002) for Dorabella in <i>Cosi Fan Tutte</i>by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Australian National Theatre production, Princess Theatre Melbourne, 1953","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"Born into a family of Russian Jewish master tailors in Vienna in 1905, Louis Kahan was awarded a master's diploma in tailoring and studied life drawing before moving to Paris in 1925 where he worked as a tailor and designer for Paul Poiret, designing costumes for Josephine Baker and Collette amongst others. After serving with the French Foreign Legion he spent time as a war artist in North Africa in 1943-1944 before returning to Paris and working as a staff artist of Le Figaro, and taking up printmaking. He moved to Perth in 1947 and Melbourne in 1950 where he married Lily Isaac in 1954, spending the first four years of their marriage in Europe where an exhibition of his work was mounted at the Royal Festival Hall in 1955. In England he produced costume and stage deigns and took part in an exhibition organised by the Australian Art its' Association at the Imperial Galleries in 1957. He returned to Perth in 1958 and moved to Melbourne in 1960 where he established himself in the suburb of Kew as a portraitist, later returning to printmaking. He was awarded the Australian Painters and Sculptors Medal on his 90th birthday where he died in 2002 aged 97.\n\nThis design was for a production of <i>Cosi fan Tutte</i> at the Princess Theatre Melbourne that the Australian National Theatre presented in 1953 as part of a Coronation series.","physicalDescription":"Costume design in pencil and gouache on cream cartridge paper showing Dorabella in a low-cut blue and pink gown with pencilled details of her headdress, underskirt and overdress; captioned in pencil: '\"Cosi fan tutte\" Florabella, Louis Kahan '58'","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Kahan, Louis","id":"AUTH338903"},"association":{"text":"costume designers","id":"AAT163428"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"pencil","id":"x30347"},{"text":"gouache","id":"AAT70114"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing (image-making)","id":"AAT54196"},{"text":"painting (image-making)","id":"AAT54216"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Pencil and gouache on paper","categories":[{"text":"Costumes","id":"THES269529"},{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&P","id":"THES48602"},"images":["2016JL0619"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES356705"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"costume design","id":"AAT163423"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Melbourne","id":"x32322"},"association":{"text":"drawn","id":"x30545"},"note":"This was probably drawn in South Yarra, a suburb of Melbourne Australia, since Kahan has inscribed his address on the back of this design in pencil as: 44 Paisley St., Sth. Yarra (Vic)"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1953","earliest":"1953-01-01","latest":"1953-12-31"},"association":{"text":"drawn","id":"x30545"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the designer","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"39.0","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"29.0","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Louis Kahan gave this design to the Theatre & Performance Department of the V&A in 1990 along with two other costume designs. In 1998 he presented eleven designs from the same production to the Arts Centre, Melbourne. The one of Dorabella in their collection is similar to ours, but without the hat she is wearing in theirs, and with different details. The detail of the overdress in this design tallies with the design in the Arts Centre, Melbourne catalogued as 'Costume design for Fiordiligi and Dorabella, Cosi Fan Tutte, Australian Theatre Movement, Melbourne 1953'.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Costume design for Dorabella in <i>Cosi Fan Tutte</i> by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), Australian National Theatre production, Princess Theatre Melbourne, 1953. Pencil and gouache by Louis Kahan (1905-2002). Identified in error by Kahan as' Floribella'","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["S.315-2016"],"accessionNumberNum":"315","accessionNumberPrefix":"S","accessionYear":2016,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-16","recordCreationDate":"2016-06-02","availableToBook":true}}