Exposition Ballets Russes de Diaghilew (Primary Title)
Jean Cocteau, French, 1889 - 1963 (Artist)
A prolific creator of literary, visual, and performing arts, Jean Cocteau was deeply entrenched in the world of theater, especially ballet. In 1911, Cocteau was commissioned by ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilew (1872–1929) to create two posters for the Ballets Russes, one of which bore this illustration of Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina (1885–1978) in her costume for Le Spectre de la Rose. The image was utilized again for this 1939 lithograph, advertising the first major exhibition examining the artistry behind the Ballets Russes.
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