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Ida Rubinstein
Ida Rubinstein
Ida Rubinstein
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Ida Lvovna Rubinstein (Russian: Ида Львовна Рубинштейн; 3 October [O.S. 21 September] 1883 – 20 September 1960)[1][2][3] was a Russian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure. She performed with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from 1909 to 1911 and later formed her own company. Boléro by Ravel (1928) was among her commissions.

Key Information

Biography

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Early life and family

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Rubinstein was born into one of Russian Empire's richest families,[4] to Jewish parents in Kharkov (now in Ukraine), and grew up in Saint Petersburg. For many years, it was a mystery whether she was born in Kharkov or Saint Petersburg, complicated by the rumour that "Ida" was short for "Adelaida". Rubinstein herself would not confirm where she was born, nor if Ida was a nickname, preferring the aura of mystery. Years after her death, the record was discovered in the archives of the Kharkov Choral Synagogue, where her father had been a board member: the birth of a daughter, Ida Lvovna, on 21 September (O.S., N.S. 5 October), to father Lev Ruvimovich, Honorary Citizen of Kharkov, and mother Ernestina Isaakovna Rubinstein, had been dutily recorded in the registry for 1883. She had an older sister, Rachel, born in 1876.[4]

Ida's grandfather, Ruvim (Roman) Rubinstein, had been a successful sugar trader in Kharkov. He moved to Saint Petersburg, where he founded the company Roman Rubinstein & Sons with his two sons, Lev (Leon) and Adolf (Anton).[5] The family multiplied their investment many times over, becoming millionaires by the time Ida was born. The family expanded to own several banks, including the First Bank of Kharkov, sugar mills and breweries.[4]

The family donated large sums of money to charities, particularly the arts. Lev and Adolf were both well educated; they regularly hosted prominent intellectuals and artists in their home. Adolf's son Iosif became a successful pianist who studied under Franz Liszt.[4]

Her mother died when Ida was very young, and in 1892, her father died in Frankfurt, leaving her a vast fortune. In 1893, the eight-year-old Ida was sent to Saint Petersburg to live with her aunt, socialite "Madame" Gorvits (Horwitz). Rubinstein grew up in her aunt's mansion on the city's famed Promenade des Anglais, where she was given the best education. She became fluent in English, French, German and Italian. When she became interested in Ancient Greece, a Greek professor was invited to tutor her in Saint Petersburg.

She was also given the best instruction in music, dance and theatre, including lessons from instructors from the Russian imperial theatres. She lacked natural dance ability, but she worked constantly on her posture, movements and pirouettes. Eventually, secretly intent on going on stage herself, she went to Paris, France, under the guise of continuing her education.[4]

Professional years

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Rubinstein in Scheherazade, 1910

In Paris, Rubinstein began her career as an actress, appearing on stage in various stages of "indecent" garb. The news reached Saint Petersburg and the ears of her conservative Orthodox family. While it was perfectly respectable for the upper class to be seen at the theatre, being an actress was no different from being a prostitute in the eyes of her horrified relatives. Her brother-in-law, a Parisian doctor named Lewinsohn (Levinson), had her declared legally insane in order to commit her to a mental asylum to save the family's honor.[4]

Her family in Kharkov and Saint Petersburg, unhappy with her being in an asylum, demanded she be released and sent home. Once in Saint Petersburg, she was chaperoned at all times by her governess, as was customary for an unmarried young woman of her social class. To earn her freedom and right to control her fortune, she married her first cousin Vladimir Gorvits, who was madly in love with her and allowed her to travel and perform.[4]

Valentin Serov, portrait of Ida as Salomé, 1910.

She had, by the standard of Russian ballet, little formal training. Tutored by Mikhail Fokine, she made her debut in 1908. This was a single private performance of Oscar Wilde's Salomé, in which she stripped nude in the course of the Dance of the Seven Veils.

Sergei Diaghilev took her with the Ballets Russes and she danced the title role of Cléopâtre in the Paris season of 1909, and Zobéide in Scheherazade in 1910. Both exotic ballets were choreographed by Fokine, and designed by Léon Bakst. The finale of Cléopâtre inspired Kees van Dongen's Souvenir of the Russian Opera Season 1909. Her partner in Scheherazade was the great Vaslav Nijinsky. Scheherazade was admired at the time for its racy sensuality and sumptuous staging, but these days it is rarely performed; to modern tastes, it is considered too much of a pantomime and its then fashionable Orientalism appears dated.

Rubinstein left the Ballets Russes in 1911.[6]

Rubinstein companies

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Rubinstein as St. Sebastian in the play Le Martyre de saint Sébastien, 1911

After leaving the Ballets Russes, Rubinstein formed her own dance company, using her inherited wealth, and commissioned several lavish productions. In 1911, she performed in Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien. The creative team was Michel Fokine (choreography); Bakst (design); Gabriele d'Annunzio (text) and score by Debussy. This was both a triumph for its stylized modernism and a scandal; the Archbishop of Paris prohibited Catholics from attending because St. Sebastian was being played by a woman and a Jew.

After the First World War, Rubinstein appeared in a number of plays, and in Staat's Istar at the Paris Opera in 1924. She also played the leading role in the 1921 silent film La Nave (film) based on D'Annunzio's play of the same name and directed by his son.[7]

Rubinstein in 1922

Between 1928 and 1929, she directed her own company in Paris with Nijinska as choreographer. She commissioned and performed in Maurice Ravel's Boléro in 1928. Other works developed in 1928 were Massine's David, with music by Sauguet; and Le Baiser de la fée, with music by Stravinsky, and choreography by Nijinska. The repertoire also included The Firebird (L'Oiseau de Feu) with music by Stravinsky, and choreography by Michel Fokine; this had been one of the most sensational creations for the Ballets Russes. The company was revived in 1931 and 1934, with new works. She closed the company in 1935, and gave her last performance in the play Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher in Paris, 1939.[6]

Rubinstein often staged free ballet events and continued to dance until the start of the Second World War.

Later life

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Rubinstein is not considered to be in the top tier of ballerinas; she began her training too late for that to have been possible. She did, however, have tremendous stage presence and was able to act. She was also a significant patron and she tended to commission works that suited her abilities, works that mixed dance with drama and stagecraft. In 1934, the French government awarded her the Légion d'honneur, and then in 1939 the Grand Cross of the Légion, its highest honor. In 1935, she was awarded honorary French citizenship, and in 1936 she converted to Roman Catholicism.[8]

In 1940, she left France during the German invasion, and made her way to England via Algeria and Morocco. There she helped wounded Free French soldiers until 1944. Walter Guinness (later Lord Moyne), her long-term lover and sponsor, remained supportive, providing a suite at the Ritz Hotel, until he was assassinated by the Stern Gang in late 1944.[9] She returned to France after the war, living finally at the villa Les Olivades in Vence.

Rubinstein lived the final 10 years of her life in relative quiet.[10] She died in 1960 in Vence, France, and is buried nearby.

Images and paintings

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Mme Ida Rubinstein, c. 1910 by Léon Bakst
Portrait of Ida Rubinstein, 1913 by Antonio de La Gándara.
Ida Rubinstein as Zobeide, 1922 by Jacques-Émile Blanche.

Rubinstein was much celebrated in art. Her portrait by Valentin Serov in 1910 marks the most complete realization of his mature style. The Art Deco sculptor Demetre Chiparus produced a Rubinstein figurine, and she was also painted by Antonio de la Gandara and Jacques-Émile Blanche. Costume designer Léon Bakst created numerous images of Rubinstein in various roles. Rubinstein did not like long sittings and earned the reputation of being a difficult subject. For this reason, Blanche and others preferred to work from photographs.[11]

Rubinstein was bisexual,[12] and in 1911 she began a three-year affair with the painter Romaine Brooks, who created several striking portraits, including some of the dancer in the nude, e.g. for La Venus triste. Brooks' portraits were based on "an extraordinary series of photographs taken by Brooks at the time".[13]

Brooks explained Rubinstein's allure to her audiences and artists as follows:

It was Ida Rubinstein's elusive quality that fascinated. She expressed an inner self that had no particular denomination. Her beauty belonged to those mental images that demand manifestation, and whatever period she represented she became its image. In reality she was the crystallization of a poet's image, a painter's vision, and as such she possessed further significance ... It was her gift for impersonating the beauty of every époque, that marked Ida Rubinstein as unique.[11]

See also

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Notes

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Additional references

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Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Ida Rubinstein

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from Grokipedia

Ida Lvovna Rubinstein (1883–20 September 1960) was a dancer, actress, and patron of the arts born to a wealthy Jewish merchant family in Kharkov, Ukraine (then in the Russian Empire), who became a prominent figure in early 20th-century European theater despite limited formal ballet training.
Orphaned young after her parents' deaths, she studied drama in Moscow and St. Petersburg before training in dance with Michel Fokine, making her scandalous debut in 1908 as Salome in an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play, performing the Dance of the Seven Veils in near-nudity that provoked outrage for challenging norms of sexuality and decorum.
This notoriety drew the attention of Serge Diaghilev, leading to her brief tenure with the Ballets Russes from 1909, where she starred in roles like Cleopatra (1909) and Zobeide in Scheherazade (1910), leveraging her exotic appearance and innovative staging with silk fabrics and lighting to captivate audiences and artists.
In 1928, Rubinstein established her own ensemble, Les Ballets Ida Rubinstein, for which she commissioned landmark compositions including Maurice Ravel's Boléro (1928, with exclusive performance rights secured), Igor Stravinsky's Le baiser de la fée (1928), and Perséphone (1934), funding lavish productions that advanced modern dance and music while facing criticism for her amateur technique and dominance of lead roles.
Later performing in works like Le Martyre de saint Sébastien (1911) and Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (1938), she converted to Catholicism in 1936, retired amid World War II, and died in Vence, France, leaving a legacy as a bold financier and performer who bridged theater, dance, and patronage.

Early Life

Family Background and Orphanhood

Ida Lvovna Rubinstein was born on October 5, 1885, in , then part of the , into one of the empire's wealthiest Jewish families engaged in banking, , and production. Her parents, Lev Romanovich Rubinstein and Ernestina Isaakovna (née van Jung), belonged to the upper echelons of Jewish society, where such commercial enterprises amassed significant fortunes amid the restrictions on Jewish economic activities. As the youngest of four children, Rubinstein's early years reflected the privileges of this milieu, including access to cultural refinement typical of affluent Jewish merchant classes seeking assimilation into broader Russian elite circles. Following the deaths of her parents in quick succession—her mother earlier and her father around —Rubinstein was orphaned by approximately age seven. She was subsequently raised by a wealthy aunt in St. Petersburg, the empire's cultural and imperial capital, where family relatives oversaw the management of her substantial inheritance derived from the family's diversified business holdings. This financial security, rooted in the clan's entrepreneurial success, insulated her from immediate economic pressures and later enabled personal autonomy, though her upbringing adhered to the conservative expectations of both traditional Jewish observance and the stratified norms of Russian high society, which limited opportunities for women outside domestic or marital roles.

Initial Education and Artistic Awakening

Ida Rubinstein, orphaned at a young age following the deaths of her parents in the late , was raised by her aunt in St. Petersburg, where she received a comprehensive private tailored to elite Russian Jewish society. This included rigorous instruction in classical languages, as well as modern tongues such as German, French, Italian, and English, alongside studies in , fine arts, , and literature, fostering her multilingual fluency and cultural sophistication. Her aunt's salon in the city exposed her to intellectual circles, including artistic collections and discussions that ignited an early fascination with , exotic motifs, and the mystical elements of Symbolist literature prevalent in fin-de-siècle Russia. By her late teens, around 1901–1903, Rubinstein's burgeoning interests diverged sharply from the conventional expectations for an unmarried Jewish heiress of her wealth and status, who were typically groomed for discreet social roles emphasizing propriety and family alliances rather than public performance. Despite familial opposition viewing pursuits as unseemly and potentially scandalous for a woman of her background, she began studying drama at the Theatre School toward the end of 1904, marking her initial defiance and awakening to theatrical expression. This period of intellectual rebellion, informed by her exposure to Symbolist aesthetics and ancient themes, laid the groundwork for her later artistic endeavors without yet involving formal dance instruction.

Performing Career Beginnings

Dance Training Under Fokine


Ida Rubinstein initiated her serious dance studies in 1907 at age 22 with Mikhail Fokine in St. Petersburg, marking a late entry into a discipline that conventionally required childhood immersion for technical mastery. Lacking the early pliancy and strength typical of Imperial Ballet trainees, she contended with inherent physical constraints, including a tall, voluptuous frame unsuited to the precise, airborne demands of classical pointe work. Her family's immense wealth, derived from banking and industrial interests, financed exclusive private lessons, circumventing the rigorous, merit-based entry barriers of state academies and allowing sustained pursuit despite these hurdles. Fokine, an advocate for reforming toward greater expressivity and realism, adapted his to Rubinstein's attributes, prioritizing dramatic , fluid plastique, and character interpretation over . This focus compensated for her technical deficiencies, leveraging her striking beauty, elongated limbs, and innate charisma to cultivate a mesmerizing, sculptural presence on stage. Through persistent practice, she surmounted initial awkwardness, as evidenced by contemporaries' accounts of her rapid assimilation of Fokine's innovative methods, which emphasized emotional narrative over formal perfection. Rubinstein's training culminated in preliminary amateur engagements within elite private circles and theatrical experiments, providing low-stakes venues to refine her interpretive skills and build performative assurance. These unpublicized outings, often in salons or intimate productions, tested her resilience against self-doubt and societal skepticism toward a non-professional interloper in ballet's rarified domain. ensured continuity, transforming potential abandonment into a foundation for bolder artistic risks.

Salome Debut and Resulting Scandals

![Ida Rubinstein portrayed by Leon Bakst][float-right] In 1908, Ida Rubinstein made her dancing debut in a private performance of Oscar Wilde's Salomé in St. Petersburg, portraying the titular princess in a mimed adaptation with music by Alexander Glazunov, choreography by Mikhail Fokine, and costumes designed by Léon Bakst. During the Dance of the Seven Veils, Rubinstein removed most of her veils, appearing nearly nude, which immediately provoked outrage among attendees for its eroticism and perceived violation of public decency norms. The production featured lavish sets and costumes commissioned at significant personal expense, reflecting Rubinstein's wealth from her banking family background, but the full staged version intended for the Mikhailovsky Theatre was ultimately banned by authorities before public presentation. Following the ban, Rubinstein performed the as a standalone piece on December 20, 1908, in the grand hall of the Tenishev in St. Petersburg, shedding her attire down to a brassière and loincloth, which scandalized elite society and intensified public controversy. This event, attended by artists and intellectuals, highlighted tensions between emerging modernist sensibilities and Tsarist-era moral conservatism, with critics decrying the display as immoral while a minority praised its artistic daring and exotic allure. Russian obscenity laws, which prohibited indecent public exposures, loomed over the performances, though family connections likely shielded Rubinstein from formal prosecution, allowing her release from potential custody without trial. The scandals cemented Rubinstein's notoriety as a provocative figure, dividing opinion sharply: conservative elements, including segments of her own family, condemned the eroticism as a betrayal of Jewish bourgeois propriety, while progressive circles celebrated her as a symbol of liberation from stifling conventions. No peer-reviewed accounts confirm a full , but the threat of legal repercussions under Article 318 of the Russian Criminal Code—banning lewd acts in public—underscored the cultural clash, with Rubinstein's defiance marking her transition from amateur enthusiast to professional performer amid widespread media .

Ballets Russes Period

Recruitment by Diaghilev

Following her controversial performance of the from Salomé on December 20, 1908, at the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Ida Rubinstein attracted the notice of . The scandal surrounding her near-nude appearance and exotic allure aligned with the sensationalism Diaghilev sought for his nascent company, prompting him to invite her to join the 1909 Paris season despite her lack of formal ballet training. As an amateur dancer from a wealthy banking family, Rubinstein's striking beauty and mimetic abilities offered Diaghilev a visually compelling figure to enhance the troupe's orientalist productions, compensating for her technical deficiencies. Diaghilev's recruitment was pragmatic, leveraging Rubinstein's post-Salomé fame amid the Ballets Russes' chronic financial precarity following the inaugural season's modest losses of 76,000 francs. Her inherited fortune positioned her as a potential patron, aligning with Diaghilev's of blending artistic innovation with fiscal opportunism to sustain the company. This inclusion fit the ensemble's emphasis on exotic aesthetics in works choreographed by and designed by , where Rubinstein's dark, statuesque presence evoked Eastern mystique without demanding virtuoso pointe work. Her rapid elevation sparked initial frictions within the company, as professionally trained dancers resented the prominence afforded to an outsider whose appeal rested more on visual impact than rigorous technique. These dynamics underscored the tensions between Diaghilev's vision for multimedia spectacle and the traditional , though Rubinstein's debut integrated her into the 1909 performances, bolstering the troupe's draw in .

Principal Roles and Nijinsky Partnership

Rubinstein's debut with the Ballets Russes occurred on June 2, 1909, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where she portrayed the title role in Michel Fokine's Cléopâtre, a piece emphasizing exotic sensuality through mime rather than classical ballet technique. This role capitalized on her striking, unconventional appearance, presenting her as a mesmerizing figure carried onstage in veils on a palanquin, aligning with the company's early focus on orientalist themes and dramatic expression. Her performances in such works marked her as a principal artist during the 1909-1911 period, though her limited formal training positioned her contributions toward interpretive mime in exotic narratives over virtuoso dance. In 1910, Rubinstein formed a notable artistic partnership with , particularly in Fokine's Schéhérazade, premiered on June 4 at the Opéra, where she danced Zobéide opposite Nijinsky's Golden Slave. Their duet sequences, choreographed to Rimsky-Korsakov's symphonic suite with designs by , showcased intense physical and dramatic interplay, blending , gesture, and stylized movement to evoke forbidden passion in a setting. This collaboration highlighted the ' innovative fusion of music, , and , with Rubinstein's commanding presence complementing Nijinsky's athletic precision, though contemporary accounts emphasized their onstage chemistry as a product of rehearsed synergy rather than personal romance. Rubinstein departed the in 1911 following two seasons, amid contract negotiations and the troupe's shift toward more technically demanding works that favored trained dancers like Nijinsky and . Her exit reflected underlying tensions over artistic control and billing for an performer of independent means, enabling her subsequent ventures as an . This period solidified her role in the company's early exotic repertoire but underscored the limitations of her mime-centric style as Diaghilev prioritized evolving innovations.

Independent Impresario Phase

Commissioning Major Works like

In the years following her departure from the in 1911, Ida Rubinstein established herself as a discerning patron by commissioning bespoke musical scores from prominent composers to realize her artistic visions of hypnotic, sensual spectacles that fused , , and orchestral texture with minimal reliance on linear . These works, often tailored to accentuate her statuesque form and expressive gestures, drew on contemporary French musical innovation to evoke and through repetitive motifs and lush harmonies rather than plot-driven drama. A landmark commission came in 1927 when Rubinstein engaged to create , a one-act featuring a relentless underpinning swelling orchestral layers, designed to accompany her portrayal of a sinuous, undulating female figure in a of escalating trance-like intensity. Premiered on November 22, 1928, at the Paris Opéra with choreography by and designs by , the production exemplified Rubinstein's preference for atmospheric immersion over conventional , as Ravel crafted the score specifically to frame her static yet mesmerizing central role amid a corps of dancers. Rubinstein's collaborations extended to Florent Schmitt, whose robust, orientalist-inflected compositions suited her penchant for grandiose, sensory-driven pieces; she commissioned him for Antony et Cléopâtre in 1920, a where his amplified themes of passion and decadence through vivid orchestration, debuting in to highlight her dual role as producer and performer. This partnership continued into , including Schmitt's full-length Oriane et le Prince d'Amour (Op. 83), composed in 1932–1933 and premiered in 1934, which integrated mythical sensuality with intricate symphonic writing to underscore Rubinstein's mime-infused choreography. Financed through her personal fortune, these commissions resulted in self-produced events at prestigious Parisian venues like the Opéra, where integrated elements of custom music, lavish sets, and her prioritized evocative mood and physical allure, influencing interwar avant-garde theater by prioritizing composer-dancer synergy over ensemble storytelling.

Formation and Management of Troupes

In 1928, Ida Rubinstein founded Les Ballets de Madame Ida Rubinstein, personally financing the ensemble as an independent venture following her departure from collaborative projects. She engaged as the principal choreographer to direct most of the repertory, alongside other prominent figures such as for select contributions, thereby assembling a roster of elite artistic personnel despite Rubinstein's intention to perform leading roles herself. This structure emphasized her central presence, with productions designed around her interpretive strengths in and dramatic expression rather than technique. Operational management proved challenging due to the troupe's reliance on extravagant staging, including elaborate sets and costumes that incurred substantial expenses without corresponding long-term financial viability. Rubinstein's dominance in casting—starring in nearly every —elicited critiques from observers who viewed it as an exercise in personal vanity, potentially undermining ensemble cohesion and artistic breadth, though she defended the approach as integral to her vision of total spectacle. No widespread reports of dancer defections emerged, but the high costs and intermittent scheduling strained resources, limiting the company's stability. The ensemble's most active period spanned the late 1920s, with operations tapering by the early 1930s as Rubinstein faced practical constraints; she last performed with the troupe in 1934 before dissolving its formal structure. Thereafter, she adapted by forming ad-hoc groups of performers for touring productions and independent spectacles, prioritizing flexibility over permanent management to sustain her impresarial activities amid ongoing fiscal pressures. This shift reflected a pragmatic response to the inherent unsustainability of maintaining a fixed under her centralized control.

Later Career and Challenges

Wartime Nursing and Exile

Following the of 1917, Rubinstein, born into a wealthy Jewish banking family in , had already established herself in , but the upheaval led to the loss of family assets in and prompted her permanent relocation , where she continued her artistic endeavors amid émigré circles. During , Rubinstein shifted from performance to wartime service, transforming the Carlton Hotel in into a for wounded Allied soldiers in and personally attending to patients, demonstrating a hands-on commitment to relief efforts that echoed her dramatic persona in a practical context. As erupted in , Rubinstein halted her stage activities, initially resisting departure from despite the rising threat to under German occupation; her companion, Walter Guinness (Lord Moyne), arranged her escape to safety. She relocated via to , residing at the Ritz Hotel while braving wartime conditions, including German bombing raids. In exile, Rubinstein channeled her resources into supporting the Free French forces, resuming duties by caring for injured soldiers and managing a in dedicated to their treatment, thereby leveraging her personal fortune and prior experience for without resuming public performances. Her residence suffered destruction amid the conflict, though prior investments safeguarded portions of her wealth from seizure.

Post-War Productions and Decline

Following , Rubinstein returned to France but undertook no significant theatrical productions or performances, residing instead in seclusion on the . Born in 1885, she was in her mid-sixties by 1950, with advancing age and lingering health effects from earlier illnesses—such as episodes during her 1930s revivals—rendering renewed stage activity infeasible. Her last documented appearance was in 1939, portraying in Paul Claudel's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher in , after which wartime disruptions and personal retreat solidified her withdrawal from public performance. The financial extravagance of her pre-war impresarial ventures, including lavish commissions and troupe managements that depleted much of her inherited banking fortune, contributed to scaled-back ambitions in any potential endeavors, though she maintained private means sufficient for seclusion. Absent the grand spectacles that defined her earlier phases, Rubinstein's influence in and theater waned amid a landscape dominated by emerging companies and choreographers, marking the effective close of her career around age 54 with no revivals or comebacks in the . This decline reflected not only personal physical constraints but also the era's shift away from her mime-infused, patronage-driven aesthetic toward more technically rigorous ensemble traditions.

Personal Life and Relationships

Romantic Entanglements and Sexuality

In , Rubinstein entered a with her cousin Vladimir Gorvits to secure legal and access her substantial from her orphaned estate, as Russian law restricted unmarried women's financial ; the union remained unconsummated, produced no children, and ended shortly thereafter, enabling her pursuit of an unconventional unbound by traditional familial obligations. Rubinstein had no subsequent marriages or , a choice that defied societal norms for women of her affluent Jewish merchant class in tsarist , where procreation and domesticity were expected to anchor and . Her most documented romantic involvement began in 1911 with American painter , following Rubinstein's Paris debut; the relationship, characterized by deep and artistic , endured for about three years and is evidenced by Brooks' oil Ida Rubinstein (1917, ), commissioned during their liaison, as well as private letters revealing mutual devotion amid professional jealousies. Brooks, who identified as and had prior connections to bisexual circles, portrayed Rubinstein in androgynous, sensual poses that blurred gender lines, reflecting their shared defiance of heteronormative conventions in Belle Époque . The affair reportedly soured due to Rubinstein's possessiveness and Brooks' reluctance for cohabitation, yet it underscored Rubinstein's , with contemporary accounts noting her attractions to both sexes without exclusive commitment. Rumors persisted of heterosexual entanglements, including with poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, whose dramatic works she performed and who pursued her amid shared social decadence, though these lack direct epistolary or eyewitness corroboration beyond gossip in artistic milieus. Similarly, speculation linked her to dancer Vaslav Nijinsky from their 1910 Ballets Russes collaborations in sensual roles like Scheherazade, but no verifiable evidence supports physical intimacy, given Nijinsky's primary allegiance to Sergei Diaghilev; such tales likely stemmed from onstage chemistry and the era's fascination with boundary-pushing performers. Rubinstein's personal sexuality intertwined with her public image, as nude or semi-nude appearances in early roles—such as Salome in 1908—provoked scandal and fueled perceptions of her as an erotic icon, though she maintained privacy, prioritizing autonomy over disclosure in an age when such matters invited ostracism.

Philanthropic Efforts and Catholic Conversion

Rubinstein's philanthropic activities included organizing a charity performance in St. Petersburg on December 9, 1908 (O.S.), featuring her as to benefit the Imperial Russian Theatre Society, with sets by and direction by . During , she participated in benefit events, such as a 1916 lecture-recital, to support war efforts and charitable causes. While her family's wealth supported arts-related giving, personal donations to Jewish causes before lack detailed documentation beyond her inherited resources funding broader cultural initiatives. In 1936, Rubinstein converted to Roman Catholicism, transitioning from Russian Orthodoxy as recorded in her earlier documents. This spiritual change coincided with a shift toward introspection, culminating after in her withdrawal from public life; she sold her townhouse on Place des États-Unis and relocated to Les Olivades in , adopting a regimen of strict seclusion focused on study and attendance at in a nearby chapel. Her final decade, until her death on September 20, 1960, emphasized personal devotion over former extravagance, reflecting a causal pivot from performative visibility to faith-driven isolation without evidence of resumed active .

Artistic Assessment

Physical Presence Versus Technical Proficiency

Ida Rubinstein's physical attributes were frequently highlighted by contemporaries for their aesthetic impact in performance. Her striking beauty, characterized by a lithe and androgynous form, along with a hypnotic gaze, contributed to her allure as a performer. Artist praised her approach as embodying "the art of the beautiful pose," emphasizing static, evocative gestures over dynamic movement. These qualities allowed her to project theatrical presence through and costume, compensating for technical deficiencies. Rubinstein began formal dance training late, around age 19, under choreographer Mikhail Fokin, which limited her development in fundamentals. This delayed start resulted in weak pointe work and restricted virtuosity, as demands rigorous early discipline for precision and endurance. Reviews noted her reliance on expressive posing rather than intricate footwork or leaps, with critics observing that her performances prioritized visual and charismatic effect over balletic mastery. Empirical assessments from period critiques affirm that while Rubinstein's exotic beauty and sensual charisma captivated audiences, they did not substitute for proficient technique. Her ability to evoke decadence through deliberate, sculptural poses distinguished her from technically adept dancers, yet underscored inherent limitations in agility and stamina derived from insufficient foundational training. This contrast positioned her as a unique, if polarizing, figure in early 20th-century dance, where physical magnetism often overshadowed mechanical skill shortcomings.

Critical Reception: Praises and Rebukes

Contemporary critics aligned with modernist sensibilities praised Rubinstein for her erotic allure and patronage of innovative works, crediting her with commissioning Maurice Ravel's in 1928, which debuted as a spectacle for her troupe and elevated through her financial support. hailed her as "incomparable," while others commended her gestural expressiveness and sexual daring in productions like Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (1911). Figures such as admired her physical attributes, and select reviewers lauded her performances for "simplicity and grandeur," viewing her as a catalyst for boundary-pushing artistry that blended , , and sensuality. In contrast, traditionalist critics and ballet purists rebuked Rubinstein for her amateur status and technical deficiencies, noting her limited formal training and initial skepticism from choreographers like over her proficiency. , despite featuring her as Zobeide in (1910), dismissed her lack of talent and resented her recruitment of his collaborators with superior pay for her 1928 troupe, Les Ballets Ida Rubinstein. Detractors accused her of purchasing entry into elite circles, with complaints that her wealth overshadowed substance, potentially compounded by anti-Semitic undertones. Her self-directed company drew further ire for Rubinstein's insistence on pointe work—unconventional for her skills—and starring in every major role, interpreted as at age 43, prioritizing personal showcase over merit. By , assessments framed her as a dilettante leveraging fortune for scandalous displays rather than disciplined craft, with scholars later affirming she was "not a fine dancer" but succeeded through exotic amid ideological rifts between enthusiasts and classical advocates.

Visual and Cultural Depictions

Portraits by Contemporaries

created a of Ida Rubinstein around 1910, capturing her in the elegant lines of Russian Art Nouveau with elongated forms and decorative motifs that emphasized her poised, aristocratic demeanor. This work, painted shortly before Serov's death in 1911, highlights Rubinstein's striking features through a stylized, modernist lens rather than strict realism. Léon Bakst portrayed Rubinstein in a circa 1910 oil painting held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, rendering her in vibrant colors and exotic attire that accentuated her Orientalist allure and dramatic presence, reflecting the fin-de-siècle fascination with the East. Bakst's depiction underscores her as a symbol of opulent sensuality, with rich fabrics and bold poses evoking theatrical intensity even in static form. Romaine Brooks produced multiple portraits of Rubinstein, including a 1917 oil on canvas at the Smithsonian American Art Museum measuring 119.1 by 94.0 cm, where pale tones and austere composition reveal a more introspective vulnerability beneath her public glamour. Brooks, who drew inspiration from Rubinstein's lithe and sensuous physique, used these works to explore themes of androgyny and emotional depth, contrasting the exotic exuberance seen in other contemporaries' renderings. An earlier 1912 portrait by Brooks similarly emphasized her model's elongated silhouette and subdued elegance. Valentine Gross contributed illustrative portraits, such as depictions of Rubinstein in contemplative poses, employing delicate line work to convey her ethereal grace and introspective quality, often in sketches that prioritized form over color. These works by Gross, a noted of the era, captured Rubinstein's essence through fluid, expressive contours that hinted at her inner poise amid external splendor.

Influence on Fashion and Iconography

Ida Rubinstein's stage appearances in exotic roles, such as Zobeide in Schéhérazade (1910) and (1908), featured costumes by that incorporated flowing veils, diaphanous silks, and silhouettes, directly influencing Parisian couture. , a leading designer of the era, drew from Bakst's Orientalist designs for Rubinstein's productions to introduce and tunic ensembles in his 1911 collections, which gained popularity among European elites in the and persisted into the as symbols of liberated . These elements extended Rubinstein's iconographic role as an emblem of sensuality, merging Eastern exoticism with strategic nudity—evident in her near-nude performance that scandalized St. Petersburg audiences in 1908—and a projection of authoritative allure derived from her wealth and patronage. Bakst's later designs for her, including the veiled in revivals around 1920, amplified veils and turbans that permeated fashion, with colored wigs and Oriental wraps spreading globally post-1910. Archival photographs, such as those capturing her in Bakst-attired poses, and early footage of her serve as primary visual records, sustaining her image in as a bridge between theatrical spectacle and everyday opulent style, independent of her technical merits.

Legacy and Historical Reappraisal

Contributions to Modern Dance and Music

Ida Rubinstein's most significant contributions to and music stemmed from her establishment of the Les Ballets Ida Rubinstein company in 1928, which prioritized commissioned scores and innovative stagings over conventional techniques. Her wealth enabled the funding of new orchestral works tailored for , fostering experimental fusions that elevated music's role in narrative and visual spectacle. Key among these was her 1927 commission of Maurice Ravel's , premiered on November 22, 1928, at the Paris Opéra Garnier, where she performed the central role amid choreography by ; the piece's relentless rhythmic and crescendoing exemplified a orchestral-ballet synergy that persisted beyond the stage. Rubinstein's collaborations extended to composers like , with whom she worked for over two decades on productions integrating symphonic music and dramatic movement. Schmitt provided scores for her early mime-dramas, such as the 1908 La Tragédie de Salomé, and later ballets including for Antony et Cléopâtre in 1920, emphasizing orientalist themes and lush orchestration that complemented her static, pictorial style. These efforts produced over a dozen original pieces, bridging modernist composers with choreographers and advancing hybrid forms where music drove choreographic innovation rather than mere accompaniment. Through such , Rubinstein facilitated female-led by engaging directors like Nijinska and selecting works that highlighted interpretive depth, though her choices reflected a preference for roles amplifying her physical presence and thematic interests in and antiquity. This causal mechanism—direct financial support linking to performative experimentation—yielded enduring outputs like Boléro, which outlasted her company's transient runs and influenced interwar dance-music paradigms.

Reasons for Obscurity and Recent Revivals

Following her death on September 20, 1960, Ida Rubinstein's prominence in dance history diminished rapidly, attributable to several intertwined historical and cultural factors. The stylistic shifts in post-World War II dance toward more austere, technically rigorous forms rendered her mime-infused, decadent aesthetic—rooted in the and era—obsolete and even "ludicrous" to subsequent generations, as tastes evolved away from the opulent expressiveness she embodied. Additionally, the rise of anti-Semitism during and after the war marginalized figures like Rubinstein, whose Jewish heritage had already drawn xenophobic critiques from contemporaries such as , further eroding her legacy amid broader cultural reevaluations of pre-war European decadence. Her own withdrawal into religious mysticism following her 1936 conversion to Catholicism, coupled with the absence of visual or audio documentation from her era, limited opportunities for empirical reassessment, allowing technically proficient rivals like —whose independent career emphasized classical purity—to overshadow her in historical narratives. This obscurity persisted through the late , with Rubinstein often reduced to a footnote as a wealthy patron rather than a multifaceted , her commissions of works like Ravel's Boléro (1928) and collaborations with Stravinsky dismissed amid biases favoring "pure" dancers over pragmatic innovators. Scholarly efforts, such as Judith Chazin-Bennahum's advocacy for a "revitalized memory" of her 29 productions, began challenging this, portraying her neither as an indulgent dilettante nor an unalloyed pioneer, but as a strategic enabler of modernist experimentation through self-financed ventures. In the , renewed interest has manifested in theatrical revivals and biographical reappraisals countering the "forgotten " trope. The 2021 London production Ida Rubinstein: The Final Act at The Playground Theatre, directed by and starring Naomi Sorkin, integrated dance, music, and projections to reconstruct her scandals and achievements, emphasizing her agency as an who defied conventions without relying on inherited wealth alone for validation. Such efforts, alongside analyses highlighting her role in bridging mime and , reflect a historiographical shift grounded in archival recovery rather than romanticization, fostering a balanced view of her as a causal force in artistic patronage amid era-specific constraints.

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