The Hermitage has opened an exhibition devoted to 100 anniversary of "Russian Seasons" Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev in Paris. The exhibition presents some 80 works of painting, sculpture, graphic and applied arts

The Hermitage The court in the gallery of the Winter Palace (rooms 338-339) opened the exhibition "Dance", dedicated to 100 anniversary of "Russian Seasons" Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (1872-1929) in Paris.

presented works of art demonstrate a change of attitude to the subject of dance in the art of the late XIX - first half of XX century.

The main emphasis is on the art of the early XX century, the term "Russian Seasons", Diaghilev in Paris. At this time the art of dance often becomes a model for the artist, a guide, a metaphor for the creative process.

The exhibition includes about 80 exhibits, including paintings, sculpture, graphic and applied art. Here you can see not only works directly depicting the dance, but also work with the dance of the plot is not related, but cause the association with its style, plastic figures, the character line.

exposition can be divided into two parts. The first section brings together the work of Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and masters of 1890. Creation of one of the brightest representatives of impressionism painted a picture of "Ballet Rehearsal on the stage" from the Museum d'Orsay (Paris, France), three pastels, picturesque sketches, drawings and two sculptures from the Hermitage.

Works of art show the next generation of dance as an act and priests. The art of dance in this period has an impact on the very style of art. Here you can highlight the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ( "Japanese sofa, lists a series of" cafe-concert "), table decoration of porcelain Agathon Léonard Van Veydelfeldta" Dance with scarves, lithograph by Henri Fantin-Latour and Walter Crane.

XX century is represented by graphic works by Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Marc Chagall (1887-1985) and Henri Laurens (1885-1954).

The structure of the exhibition included a work by Matisse, directly showing the dance, and work, enable us to find more or less close analogy: the depiction of certain figures, abstract arabesques. Along with graphic works (lists of books "Jazz", "Poems by Stephane Mallarme," Selected love poetry of Ronsard), exhibited a picture "of fruit, flowers," the panel "The Dance" "and two small sculptures (" Etude feet "," Torso »).

Creative Marc Chagall presented with colored lithographs of the editions of "Circus" "Daphnis and Chloe", "Poems».

The Art of Henri Laurens give an idea a few engravings of the books "Idylls of Theocritus" and "Lukios or an ass. It should be emphasized that the work of masters are exhibited in the Hermitage are extremely rare and almost unknown to the public.

In the same section includes drawings, sketches of costumes made Bakst , Benoit and Anisfeld , as well as photos of artists and memoirs of participants" Russian Seasons "from St. Petersburg State Museum of Theater and Music. Among them we can highlight the poster of the first season (1909), performed by drawing Valentin Serov (1865-1911).

Later will be exhibited sculpture by Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) "Unique forms of continuity in space" of the Tate Gallery (London, UK).

Curator - Michael V. Balan, researcher in the Department of Western European Art of the State Hermitage.

The exhibition runs until January 17, 2010.

Source: hermitagemuseum.org