In 1913 Kazimir Malevich was asked to produce a series of costumes and set designs for the "first Futurist opera," entitled Victory over the Sun. The music was by Mikhail Matiushin, and the main text was written by the poet Alexei Kruchenykh. There was also a prologue written primarily by Velimir Khlebnikov. The opera was performed in 1913 on a double bill with Mayakovsky's play Vladimir Mayakovsky. A Tragedy. For his costumes, Malevich provided radical, anti-realist designs that combined volumetrically-shaped body coverings and shocking color schemes. For a video clip of a modern reconstruction of Victory over the Sun, click here. You will need the QuickTime Movie player.

Below are several of Malevich's costume designs for the 1913 production of Victory over the Sun.