Robe Poeme No. 688

Sonia Delaunay

1922

A costume design in watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper in which Sonia Delaunay translates rhythm, color, and words into a wearable “poem.”

You first notice a stacked, abstract figure of bright rings, striped panels and translucent washes pierced by hand-painted words, as if color and type have been stitched together into a single form.

Part of Delaunay’s simultaneist “robe-poème” experiments, it helped collapse painting, textile design, and fashion—demonstrating how modernist abstraction could be applied to everyday dress and performance.

Palette

Art Terms

Drawing Gouache Watercolor Abstraction Orphism Design Textile

Exhibitions

Painting in Paris

1930

The Lillie P. Bliss Collection, 1934

1934

Works from the Museum Collection of Dance and Theatre Design

1945

Works of Art: Given or Promised

1958