Watercolour
ca. 1921 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Lubov Tchernicheva joined Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1911, married the regisseur Serge Grigoriev and remained with the company throughout its existence, becoming one of its leading and highest paid ballerinas. She particularly made her mark when the Ballets Russes returned to London after the War, as a result of which Beaumont produced this limited edition book. In the introductory text Beaumont describes the tall Tchernicheva as 'arresting and majestic'. On page five he describers her in Mikhail Fokine's ballet, Les Sylphides (1909). 'In Les Sylphides she appears in the familiar costume of the classic ballet. Her long skirt of white tulle, her pale face relieved only by her dark hair bound with a garland of forget-me-nots invests her with a cold beauty and a quiet grace so that she seems to be a divinity from another, purer world, and in this difficult pas seul she displays a sound knowledge of the technique of her art.'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and gouache on art board |
| Brief description | Lubov Tchernicheva in the ballet, Les Sylphides, by Vera Willoughby, 1921 |
| Physical description | Full length image of a ballerina in a white romantic tutu with small wings, her black hair is drawn back and on her head she wears a wreath of blue flowers. (forget-me-nots). She appears in Mikhail Fokine's ballet, Les Sylphides in a pose position with her right foot pointing forward on the ground. She bends forward from the waist, slightly to her right (over the outstretched foot) with her arms held in opposition out to her left with the hands held in a stylised position bending upwards. The background shows a glade of green trees surrounding a curved blue lake suggestion the setting designed by Carlo Socrate rather than that first designed by Alexandre Benois. Behind the trees is a dark blue sky. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest |
| Object history | Image comissioned for a print to be hand-coloured in Cyril Beaumont's book, The Art of Lubov Tchernicheva, published in 1921. The print appears on page 21 and shows the Sylph in the same position but with a background that was far easier to hand-colour. Instead of the sylvian setting the floor is silver with a suggestion of theatrical stage flats behind with a break showing a starry night sky. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Lubov Tchernicheva joined Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1911, married the regisseur Serge Grigoriev and remained with the company throughout its existence, becoming one of its leading and highest paid ballerinas. She particularly made her mark when the Ballets Russes returned to London after the War, as a result of which Beaumont produced this limited edition book. In the introductory text Beaumont describes the tall Tchernicheva as 'arresting and majestic'. On page five he describers her in Mikhail Fokine's ballet, Les Sylphides (1909). 'In Les Sylphides she appears in the familiar costume of the classic ballet. Her long skirt of white tulle, her pale face relieved only by her dark hair bound with a garland of forget-me-nots invests her with a cold beauty and a quiet grace so that she seems to be a divinity from another, purer world, and in this difficult pas seul she displays a sound knowledge of the technique of her art.' |
| Bibliographic reference | Beaumont, Cyril W. The Art of Lubov Tchernicheva, London, C.W.Beaumont, 1921 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.197-2008 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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