This Mikhail Larionov storyboard image of Soleil de Nuit was produced as a print, a variant on his cover illustration of the 1915 souvenir programme for the Ballets Russes in Paris. Soleil de Nuit, also known as The Midnight Sun, was a ballet premiered by the Ballet Russes on 20 December 1915 at the Grand Théâtre, Geneva, with a book and choreography by Leonide Massine and music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It was the first of Massine's creations to be performed, and was planned as a very Russian work for the first tour by the Ballets Russes to the USA.

The image shows Massine as Yarilo and appears to illustrate Roger Fry's observations in a letter to his daughter: 'Massine, Midnight Sun, dark scarlet red and gold with two great golden discs. He rushes backwards and forwards across the stage, while the peasants keep up a ceaseless dance, very complicated and almost chaotic, but very beautiful.'

A synopsis of the action was reproduced in the programme for all London performances at the London Coliseum where the company appeared between 1918 and 1928, and here taken from the programme for 20th February 1919 reads:

'The Midnight Sun belongs to Pagan, primitive Russia. At this time of year when in these Northern regions, the Sun rises soon after midnight, there are ceremonies and dances to hail the coming of Yarilo, the Sun-god of ancient times.
The whole village takes part in the ritual, which includes dances by buffoons, and by the ‘Innocent’ who assumes such prominence in Russian folk-lore.

The Midnight Sun is symbolised by a youth chosen from the village, who, at the end of the ritual, is lifted towards the dawn to propitiate the god and ensure the coming of the sun.'