Paper template for a plywood souvenir figure representing Vaslav Nijinsky as the Blue God in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Dieu bleu. Pen and ink, gold paint and gouache, 1920s.

Full length two-dimensional cut-out male figure with painted features facing right with arms bent and uplifted, the flesh painted slate blue, wearing a gold double crown with a high 'feather' edged with green dots, and a short-skirted, scoop necked, short sleeved costume decorated with elaborate shapes and patterns in yellow, dull green, dull blue and rose pink with gold decoration around neckline. Beneath the skirt are thigh-length fitted shorts in white with geometric decorations. The figure stands on a gold base representing the support. The figure is made of two separate units (legs and body) joined at the back.

Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest

A figure made to the template of S.693-2001 is included in The Complete Catalogue of the Publications of C. W. Beaumont, 1928, which lists 49 wooden figures. The Cyril Beaumont Bequest includes 40 examples of these (some not listed in the catalogue) plus 17 templates or art work for 16 different figures. Seven of these relate to wooden figures in the collection (two of which are not listed in the 1928 catalogue) and 8 to figures listed in the 1928 catalogue.

The 1928 catalogue included the following description of the cut-outs (p.25):
"These figures of celebrated dancers of the Diaghileff Ballet have been issued with a view to supply the demand for something between a photograph and a statuette - something that would preserve the memory of a dancer as she appeared in a particular ballet. Each figure is based on drawings made from sittings given by the dancer herself, and from sketches made during an actual performance. The designs are by the following artists: Adrian Allinson, Eileen Mayo, Vera Willoughby, also working under the name of Vera Petrovna, Randolph Schwabe and Ethelbert White. The figures, which are of wood, average 8 3/4 inches high, and are hand-coloured with special care to ensure accuracy of costume. The black stands on which the figures are mounted are easily removable to afford facility in packing. The figures are priced at 7s. 6d. net."

Historical significance: The making of the series of wooden figures, for which this template was produced, are a testimony to the popularity of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes in London, and a growing 'popular' audience who demanded memorabilia and souvenirs. As the only specialist bookseller and publisher in London, and with access to the dancers and company, Beaumont was quick to identify the market and he commissioned the figures, prints and illustrated books to fulfil the demand.

The drawing is a template for a wooden cut-out figure representing Vaslav Nijinsky as the Blue God in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Dieu bleu, premiered by the Diaghilev Ballets Russes in 1912 with designs by Leon Bakst. The dance historian, bookseller and publisher, Cyril Beaumont, commissioned designs from various artists which were then executed by the Aldon Studios and coloured by hand for sale in Beaumont's shop at 75 Charing Cross Road.

Beaumontwrote that he admired Caran d'Ache's satirical wood carvings of political personalities, and, about 1914, he conceived the idea of two-dimensional wooden figures of principal dancers of the Diaghilev Ballets Russes. In fact an article had appeared in Commedia Illustre in 1914 just before he had his 'idea' showing similar wooded figures of heatrical personalities.

The figures represented the dancers in costume in a typical pose from the chosen work; they were cut out from two-ply wood, hand painted and mounted on detachable stands. Each design was limited to 50 copies, originally hand-coloured by the artist and issued at 7s 6d. They sold steadily. Adrian Allinson designed nineteen figures in all and after the War, Beaumont turned to other artists and commissioned a separate artist to execute the colouring.

S.693-2001