LEONIDE MASSINE, LEON BAKST AND IGOR STRAVINSKY AT BELLERIVE, SERGE DIAGHILEV’S RESIDENCE IN LAUSANNE, SUMMER 1915

Lotto 313

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vintage gelatin silver print 22.3 x 17 cm PROVENANCE: Galerie Berdj Achdjian, Paris Private collection EXHIBITED : Sotheby’s, Paris, Danser vers la Gloire: L’Âge d’Or des Ballets Russes, Exposition à Paris, 17–23 September 2008 LITERATURE: Danser vers la Gloire: L’Âge d’Or des Ballets Russes : Exhibition catalogue, Exposition à Paris, 17–23 September 2008 (illustrated no. 118) This photograph captures a historic moment at Serge Diaghilev’s lakeside villa in Lausanne during the summer of 1915. With World War I bringing the Ballets Russes’ international tours to a halt, Diaghilev gathered his closest collaborators in neutral Switzerland. Depicted here are three important figures of Ballets Russes and early 20th-century modernism: choreographer Leonide Massine, recently elevated as the company’s principal male dancer and rising choreographic voice, Leon Bakst, whose vibrant costume and set designs defined the Ballets Russes’ visual identity; and composer Igor Stravinsky, at the height of his creative partnership with Diaghilev following the groundbreaking premieres of The Firebird, Petrushka, and The Rite of Spring.

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