Exposition Ballets Russes de Diaghilew (Primary Title)

Jean Cocteau, French, 1889 - 1963 (Artist)

1939
French
Works On Paper
Prints
lithograph on paper, mounted overall to canvas
Place Made,France
Sheet: 61 1/4 × 34 3/8 in. (155.58 × 87.31 cm)
Mount (canvas): 64 × 34 3/8 in. (162.56 × 87.31 cm)
Mount (mat): 66 3/4 × 37 3/4 in. (169.55 × 95.89 cm)
95.7

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.

Signed in stone lower right: -JEAN/ COCTEAU-
Printed upper center: MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS/ PALAIS DU LOUVRE - 107, RUE DE RIVOLI/ EXPOSITION/ BALLETS RUSSES/ de DIAGHILEW/ ORGANISÉE PAR SERGE LIFAR. Printed lower center: EXPOSITION PROLONGÉE JUSQU'AU 1er JUILLET 1939/ POUR LA/ GRANDE SAISON DE PARIS/ CONFÉRECES, SPECTACLES TOUTES LES SEMAINES.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. William M. Gottwald
©artist or artist’s estate

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