St George and the dragon thumbnail 1
St George and the dragon thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C , Case TST

St George and the dragon

Theatre Design
early 1920s (designed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Design for a drop-curtain sketched in water colour, body-colours and gold paint.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSt George and the dragon (generic title)
Materials and techniques
watercolour, body-colours and gold paint
Brief description
Vladimir Polunin Design for drop-curtain depicting St George and the dragon. Early 1920s.
Physical description
Design for a drop-curtain sketched in water colour, body-colours and gold paint.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26cm
  • Length: 40cm
Taken from Salmina-Haskell, L., Catalogue of Russian Drawings, London: V & A, 1972, pp. 44-45, cat. 172.
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
W. Polunin (Signed.)
Credit line
Bought from the International Theatre Exhibition Fund.
Object history
This is a sketch for the drop-curtain for the Russian Ballet season at the London Coliseum in 1925. A very close version of the same design was reproduced as the frontispiece to Polunin's The Continental Method of scene Painting (London, 1927), where the work is described: 'In order to separate the performance of the Diaghileff Company from the varied programme of a music-hall, I was commissioned to design a drop-curtain which should at once effect this purpose and be symbolical of the spirit of the Russian ballet...'
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Salmina-Haskell, L., Catalogue of Russian Drawings, London: V & A, 1972, pp. 44-45, cat. 172.
  • Jane Pritchard, ed. Diaghilev and the golden age of the Ballet Russes, 1909-1929 London: V&A Publishing, 2010. ISBN: 9781851776139.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1926, London: Board of Education, 1927.
Collection
Accession number
E.480-1926

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Record createdFebruary 24, 2009
Record URL
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