Diaghilev ballet russes

In 1929, the Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico adapted this architectural element for costume and decor designs for the Ballets Russes' production Le Bal, covering the legs of female dancers with brick-printed hosiery.

2 February – 27 April 2019 This spring, two stunning exhibitions will combine to provide a spectacular, colourful show. Matisse: Drawing with scissors A Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition from the Southbank Centre, London Henri Matisse was one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. His vibrant works are celebrated for their extraordinary richness and luminosity of colour and his spectacular paper cut-outs were his final triumph. This exhibition features 35 posthumous prints of […]

If you really want to improve your technique, there are some things you should be doing every class. Just as you wouldn’t expect long-term results from extreme dieting, becoming a better dancer requires . . .

Plywood souvenir figure representing Lubov Tchernicheva as Constanza in Leonide Massine's ballet The Good-Humoured Ladies, issued by C W Beaumont, 1920s.

Picasso was not the only artist who designed costumes for the Ballets Russes. Some time ago the Victoria & Albert Museum organized a fantastic exhibition called "Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, 1909-1929. When Art Dances with Music" where a number of these costumes were on display. I saw it at the Caixaforum in Barcelona. I believe it was also on at the National Gallery of Art in DC. Here is a selection: Top: Georges Braque for "Zephyr and Flora" Giorgio de Chirico for "The Ball" Sonia Delaunay…

I was having a swanky lunch recently on the seventh floor at Bergdorf Goodman with a friend from college, and afterwards I discovered in t...

Though Grace Kelly is well-known for her patronage of the arts in Monaco, she was not the first American to invest in the culture of her adopted principality. Decades before Grace wed Prince Rainier, heiress Winnaretta Singer married into the royal family and used her influence to fund and uplift numerous artistic endeavors, including the world-famous Ballet Russes. Though she and Grace became cousins-by-marriage thanks to their royal connections, their shared commitment to the arts…

Design for the costume of the Chief Clown (Le Buffoon) in the ballet Chout by Mikhail Larionov; 1915.

by Bassano Ltd vintage bromide print on cream card and photographer's mount 1916 © National Portrait Gallery, London