Petrushka
Drawing
ca. 1911 (hand drawn)
ca. 1911 (hand drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Pencil sketch on tracing paper by Valentine Gross of Tamara Karsavina as the Ballerina in Petrushka, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, ca. 1911.
Diaghilev Ballets Russes Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka) was first premiered in Paris at Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 June 1911, according to Diaghilev and The Golden Age of The Ballets Russes 1909 - 1929, edited by Jane Pritchard, first published by V&A Publishing in 2010. This production is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. Valentine Gross woodcut-style drawings of nursemaids dancing with coachmen or grooms at the fair were worked up for use in souvenir programmes and publications.
The sketches are part of the Valentine Gross Archive (THM/165), held by the V&A Department of Theatre and Performance. Valentine Gross Archive contains research material and artwork, including sketches, studies, drawings, pastels and illustrations. Only the artwork materials have been catalogued with museum numbers and given item level descriptions found in the Search the Collections webpage.
Valentine Gross, a.k.a. Valentine Hugo, was a French art student in Paris in the 1910s. She became a ballet enthusiast, illustrator, researcher and painter. Valentine Gross witnessed annual seasons of Diaghilev Ballets Russes in Paris and made preminary sketches during performances and rehearsals between 1909 and 1919. She later worked them up into pencil or coloured drawings of various degrees of finish including illustrations and paintings.
Some of the sketches feature in the book Nijinsky on Stage by Richard Buckle, published in London by Studio Vista in 1971.
Diaghilev Ballets Russes Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka) was first premiered in Paris at Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 June 1911, according to Diaghilev and The Golden Age of The Ballets Russes 1909 - 1929, edited by Jane Pritchard, first published by V&A Publishing in 2010. This production is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. Valentine Gross woodcut-style drawings of nursemaids dancing with coachmen or grooms at the fair were worked up for use in souvenir programmes and publications.
The sketches are part of the Valentine Gross Archive (THM/165), held by the V&A Department of Theatre and Performance. Valentine Gross Archive contains research material and artwork, including sketches, studies, drawings, pastels and illustrations. Only the artwork materials have been catalogued with museum numbers and given item level descriptions found in the Search the Collections webpage.
Valentine Gross, a.k.a. Valentine Hugo, was a French art student in Paris in the 1910s. She became a ballet enthusiast, illustrator, researcher and painter. Valentine Gross witnessed annual seasons of Diaghilev Ballets Russes in Paris and made preminary sketches during performances and rehearsals between 1909 and 1919. She later worked them up into pencil or coloured drawings of various degrees of finish including illustrations and paintings.
Some of the sketches feature in the book Nijinsky on Stage by Richard Buckle, published in London by Studio Vista in 1971.
Object details
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| Object type | |
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| Materials and techniques | Pencil on tracing paper |
| Brief description | Pencil sketch on tracing paper by Valentine Gross of Tamara Karsavina as the Ballerina in Petrushka, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, ca. 1911 |
| Physical description | The ballerina, Tamara Karsavina in her costume for Petrushka. This consists of hat, bodice with tassels, and hooped-skirt over striped pantaloons. She stands en pointe in a tight fifth, her hands held straight down in front of her skirt. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Jean Hugo |
| Object history | A similar, but more finished, drawing from a private collection is reproduced in Nesta MacDonald Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the United States 1911 -1929 (London: Dance Books, 1975, p.77). |
| Subject depicted | |
| Literary references |
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| Summary | Pencil sketch on tracing paper by Valentine Gross of Tamara Karsavina as the Ballerina in Petrushka, Diaghilev Ballets Russes, ca. 1911. Diaghilev Ballets Russes Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka) was first premiered in Paris at Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 June 1911, according to Diaghilev and The Golden Age of The Ballets Russes 1909 - 1929, edited by Jane Pritchard, first published by V&A Publishing in 2010. This production is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. Valentine Gross woodcut-style drawings of nursemaids dancing with coachmen or grooms at the fair were worked up for use in souvenir programmes and publications. The sketches are part of the Valentine Gross Archive (THM/165), held by the V&A Department of Theatre and Performance. Valentine Gross Archive contains research material and artwork, including sketches, studies, drawings, pastels and illustrations. Only the artwork materials have been catalogued with museum numbers and given item level descriptions found in the Search the Collections webpage. Valentine Gross, a.k.a. Valentine Hugo, was a French art student in Paris in the 1910s. She became a ballet enthusiast, illustrator, researcher and painter. Valentine Gross witnessed annual seasons of Diaghilev Ballets Russes in Paris and made preminary sketches during performances and rehearsals between 1909 and 1919. She later worked them up into pencil or coloured drawings of various degrees of finish including illustrations and paintings. Some of the sketches feature in the book Nijinsky on Stage by Richard Buckle, published in London by Studio Vista in 1971. |
| Associated object | THM/165 (Archive record) |
| Other number | THM/165 - Archive number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.2302-2009 |
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| Record created | July 29, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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