Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka) is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. It was Stravinsky's second ballet for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and used a story of traditional street puppets, the Russian equivalent of Punch and Judy, who are brought to life by a showman. The first performance was given at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, in 1911.

Petrushka was designer Alexandre Benois' most important production. The ballet was frequently revived and between 1911 and 1957 Benois redrew the sets and costumes for 14 different productions. He would often inscribe later designs with the names of the dancers who created the roles and add the date 1911. As the designs are similar in style it can be difficult to identify the individual productions. The majority of the original drawings were annotated and signed in Russian.

This costume design shows one of the Nursemaids and specifies the colours to be worn by the others. There are to be four in pink, four in blue and one in yellow. The colours are given twice, in French and in German, so it is likely that the design was made for a later production, even though it is inscribed '1911'.