Georges Wakhévitch (; Georgy Leonidovich Vakhevich; August 18, 1907 in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

– February 11, 1984 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a Russian-born French

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

. The son of a naval engineer, he immigrated to France in 1921. He grew up in Paris, where he studied

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. He was an assistant to

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

Lazare Meerson Lazare Meerson (1900–1938) was a French cinema art director. After emigrating from Soviet Russia in the early 1920s, he worked on French films of the late silent cinema and the early 1930s, particularly those directed by René Clair and Jacques ...

in the 1920s. Wakhévitch also designed sets and costumes for the theatre, the ballet, and the opera. His designs usually used vivid colours and successful sets for

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

included ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

'', ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'', ''

Die Meistersinger Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

'' and London's first ever staging of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' in 1960. He also provided Paris in 1956 with new sets for

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'', replacing some in use for over half a century. He was the father of avant-garde composer Igor Wakhévitch.Fractal Records artists page

Selected filmography

* ''

That Scoundrel Morin ''That Scoundrel Morin'' (French: ''Ce cochon de Morin'') is a 1932 French comedy film directed by Jacques Baumer, Rosine Deréan and José Noguéro. It is based on the 1882 short story of the same title by Guy de Maupassant. Goble p.116 The ...

'' (1932) * '' The Man with the Hispano'' (1933) * '' Nitchevo'' (1936) * '' Beautiful Star'' (1938) * '' Conflict'' (1938) * ''

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

'' (1938) * ''

The Postmaster's Daughter ''The Postmaster's Daughter'' (French: ''Nostalgie'') is a 1938 French historical drama film directed by Viktor Tourjansky and starring Harry Baur, Janine Crispin and George Rigaud. It is an adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's 1831 short story '' ...

'' (1938) * '' The Time of the Cherries'' (1938) * ''

The Suitors Club ''The Suitors Club'' (French: ''Le club des soupirants'') is a 1941 French comedy film directed by Maurice Gleize and starring Fernandel, Louise Carletti and Annie France. The film was produced by the German-backed company Continental Films ...

'' (1941) * '' The Murderer is Afraid at Night'' (1942) * ''

Melody for You ''Melody for You'' (French: ''Mélodie pour toi'') is a 1942 French comedy film directed by Willy Rozier and starring René Dary, Katia Lova and Gisèle Préville.https://www.unifrance.org/film/37802/melodie-pour-toi The film's sets were desig ...

'' (1942) * ''

Behold Beatrice ''Behold Beatrice'' or ''Beatrice's Temptation'' (French: ''Béatrice devant le désir'') is a 1944 French drama film directed by Jean de Marguenat and starring Fernand Ledoux, Jules Berry and Renée Faure. It features an early performance by th ...

'' (1944) * ''

Death No Longer Awaits ''Death No Longer Awaits'' (French: ''Le mort ne reçoit plus'') is a 1944 French crime film directed by Jean Tarride and starring Jules Berry, Jacqueline Gauthier and Gérard Landry.Hayward p.241 It was shot at the Saint-Laurent-du-Var Studios ...

'' (1944) * ''

Mademoiselle X ''Mademoiselle X'' is a 1945 French drama film directed by Pierre Billon and starring Madeleine Sologne, André Luguet and Ketti Gallian. It was partly shot at the Saint-Maurice Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art dire ...

'' (1945) * '' Box of Dreams'' (1945) * '' The Eleventh Hour Guest'' 1945) * '' Dawn Devils'' (1946) * ''

Song of the Clouds ''Song of the Clouds'' (French: ''Sérénade aux nuages'') is a 1946 French comedy film directed by André Cayatte and starring Tino Rossi, Jacqueline Gauthier and Jacques Louvigny.Crisp p.116 It was shot at the Marseille Studios of Marcel Pag ...

'' (1946) * ''

The Eternal Husband ''The Eternal Husband'' (, ''Vechny muzh'') is a novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky that was first published in 1870 in '' Zarya'' magazine. The novel's plot revolves around the complicated relationship between the nobleman Velchaninov an ...

'' (1946) * ''

Mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

'' (1947) * '' The Dance of Death'' (1948) * ''

The Eagle with Two Heads ''The Eagle with Two Heads'' (French title ''L'Aigle à deux têtes'') is a 1948 French drama film directed by Jean Cocteau. It was adapted from his own play '' L'Aigle à deux têtes'' which was first staged in Paris in October 1946, retaining th ...

'' (1948) * ''

Ruy Blas ''Ruy Blas'' () is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only ave ...

'' (1948) * ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...

'' (1950) * '' Miquette'' (1950) * '' Dreaming Days'' (1951) * ''

Leathernose ''Leathernose'' (, ) is a 1952 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Yves Allégret and starring Jean Marais, Françoise Christophe and Mariella Lotti.Hayward p.68 It is an adaptation of the 1936 novel by Jean de La Varende, set in Fr ...

'' (1952) * ''

Pleasures of Paris ''Pleasures of Paris'' (French: ''Plaisirs de Paris'') is a 1952 French-West German musical comedy film directed by Ralph Baum and starring Lucien Baroux, Jean Parédès and Geneviève Page.Rège p.66 It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Pari ...

'' (1952) * ''

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" () is a folk tale in Arabic added to the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab. As one of the most popul ...

'' (1954) * ''

'' (1956) * ''

Marie-Octobre ''Marie-Octobre'' is a 1959 French drama mystery film directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Danielle Darrieux, Bernard Blier and Robert Dalban. It is based on the eponymous novel by Jacques Robert. The entire action takes place in real time ...

'' (1959)

References

External links

Wakhevitch filmography at Allmovie
1907 births 1984 deaths *Georges Wakhevitch White Russian emigrants to France Artists from Paris {{artdirector-stub