Not currently on display at the V&A

Print Collection

Print
ca. 1902 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Legat, Nicolai (artist)
Legat, Sergei (artist)
Place of origin
Saint Petersburg (made)

Nicolai Legat (1869-1937) and his brother Sergei (1875-1905) were dancers, choreographers, teachers of ballet and caricaturists. Both worked for the Russian Imperial Ballet. Nicolai became an important teacher and after leaving the Imperial Ballet in 1914 went on to teach dance in Russia, Paris and London, where he eventually settled. Sergei, regarded as the greater choreographer and perceived as the natural successor to Pavel Gerdt as the Imperial Ballet's Premier danseur noble, committed suicide, aged 30.

The brothers worked together to produce caricatures of fellow dancers and choreographers. Dancer, teacher and choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910) created more than 50 ballets for the Russian Imperial Ballet, including The Sleeping Beauty.


Object details

Categories
Entertainment & Leisure
Prints
Dance
Object type
Print
TitlePrint Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Chromolithograph
Printing Ink
Paper
Chromolithography
Brief description
Caricature by Nicolai and Sergei Legat of the choreographer Marius Petipa, ca. 1902 in St. Petersburg.
Physical description
Caricature of Marius Petipa by Nicolai and Sergei Legat. He is shown in an evening suit, with white waistcoat, shirt and bow tie, leaping, with his left leg outstretched. In his left hand he carries a banner.
Dimensions
  • Height: 31.6cm
  • Width: 23.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'M. PETIPA' (Printed, lower right hand corner. The name also appears in Russian, lower left hand corner, and the artists' names are printed below the subject's right leg.)
  • '2' (Number in pencil in upper right hand corner.)
Object history
The image is taken from The Russian Ballet in Caricatures, St Petersburg, 1902-1905, a portfolio of 95 prints.
Subject depicted
Petipa, Marius
Summary
Nicolai Legat (1869-1937) and his brother Sergei (1875-1905) were dancers, choreographers, teachers of ballet and caricaturists. Both worked for the Russian Imperial Ballet. Nicolai became an important teacher and after leaving the Imperial Ballet in 1914 went on to teach dance in Russia, Paris and London, where he eventually settled. Sergei, regarded as the greater choreographer and perceived as the natural successor to Pavel Gerdt as the Imperial Ballet's Premier danseur noble, committed suicide, aged 30.

The brothers worked together to produce caricatures of fellow dancers and choreographers. Dancer, teacher and choreographer Marius Petipa (1818-1910) created more than 50 ballets for the Russian Imperial Ballet, including The Sleeping Beauty.
Bibliographic references
  • Gregory, John. The Legat Saga - Golden Years of the Russian Ballet: the life and times of Nicolai Legat ( London: Javog Publishing Associates, 1992), p.49.
  • Legat, Nicolai (trans. Paul Dukes) Ballet Russe Memoirs of Nicholas Legat (London: Methuen, 1939), p.18.
Collection
Theatre and Performance Collection
Accession number
S.5315-2009

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Record createdFebruary 16, 2010
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1154970/print-collection-print-legat-nicolai/
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