Scene from Petrushka
Painting
ca. 1913 (made)
ca. 1913 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The scene depicts an episode set in the Moor's Cell in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka). The Ballerina dances watched by the admiring Moor and an agonised Petrushka. The ballet was premiered in Paris in 1911 and was first seen in London in 1913 with Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina in their created roles of Petrushka and the Ballerina and Alexander Kotchetovsky as the Moor.
In Bookseller at the Ballet, dance historian Cyril Beaumont describes how he was inspired by reproductions of designs for the Diaghilev Ballet and by the atmosphere of the studio of painter Adrian Allinson, to attempt painting himself, trying to copy reproductions of the designs while giving his own impressions of the ballet. To his surprise, he sold the first of his paintings, of Scheherazade, but Allinson's own reaction to Beaumont's work was 'he paints' rather than 'he is an artist'. Beaumont was given to 'enthusiasms' In the 1910s he aspired to be an artist, in the 1920s he aspired to run a ballet company. He was more successful as a bookseller, historian and writer.
In Bookseller at the Ballet, dance historian Cyril Beaumont describes how he was inspired by reproductions of designs for the Diaghilev Ballet and by the atmosphere of the studio of painter Adrian Allinson, to attempt painting himself, trying to copy reproductions of the designs while giving his own impressions of the ballet. To his surprise, he sold the first of his paintings, of Scheherazade, but Allinson's own reaction to Beaumont's work was 'he paints' rather than 'he is an artist'. Beaumont was given to 'enthusiasms' In the 1910s he aspired to be an artist, in the 1920s he aspired to run a ballet company. He was more successful as a bookseller, historian and writer.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Scene from <i>Petrushka</i> |
| Materials and techniques | Oil on board |
| Brief description | Scene in the Moor's Cell from Mikhail Fokine's ballet Petrushka by Cyril Beaumont. Oil on board, ca. 1913. |
| Physical description | Blue curtains frame an interior decorated with large fantastical tropical flowers. Seated left before a pile of cushions, is the Moor watching the Ballerina dance at the front, while Petrushka agonises back right. Painted to either side of the blue curtain, are schematic houses with four windows. Oil on board. Signed lower right hand corner: C. W. BEAUMONT. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest |
| Object history | The painting came to the Museum as part of the Cyril Beaumont Bequest 1976 |
| Literary references |
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| Summary | The scene depicts an episode set in the Moor's Cell in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka). The Ballerina dances watched by the admiring Moor and an agonised Petrushka. The ballet was premiered in Paris in 1911 and was first seen in London in 1913 with Nijinsky and Tamara Karsavina in their created roles of Petrushka and the Ballerina and Alexander Kotchetovsky as the Moor. In Bookseller at the Ballet, dance historian Cyril Beaumont describes how he was inspired by reproductions of designs for the Diaghilev Ballet and by the atmosphere of the studio of painter Adrian Allinson, to attempt painting himself, trying to copy reproductions of the designs while giving his own impressions of the ballet. To his surprise, he sold the first of his paintings, of Scheherazade, but Allinson's own reaction to Beaumont's work was 'he paints' rather than 'he is an artist'. Beaumont was given to 'enthusiasms' In the 1910s he aspired to be an artist, in the 1920s he aspired to run a ballet company. He was more successful as a bookseller, historian and writer. |
| Bibliographic reference | Ashton, Geoffrey, Catalogue of Paintings at theTheatre Museum, London, edited by James Fowler, Victoria & Albert Museum in association with The Society for Theatre Research, London, 1992, cat. 71. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.805-1991 |
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| Record created | July 18, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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