Sergei Diaghilev, Ballet Russes and 19th Century Art - Essay Example

?Sergei Diaghilev, Ballet Russes, and 19th Century Art Introduction In the words of Facos, the development of art in Europe during the 19th century takes much influence from French artists, considering that the French leads the mainstream culture (1). Facos added that 19th century artworks were formed either in accordance to, or in contrasts to generally accepted French art standards. However, prominent artists from other European countries also received positive reception among mainstream audiences. For instance, Sergei Diaghilev, a Russian impresario, was one of the artists that influenced 19th century European art through his ballet company, Ballet Russes. The performances of Ballet Russes with Diaghilev helped shape 19th century art forms including music, ballet, and costume design. With the Ballet Russes, Diaghilev advances European art, music, and theater bringing to the international scene. Accordingly, this paper aims to discuss the life and works of Diaghilev as a major influence in the development of 19th century art, particularly through the Ballet Russes. Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes Sergei Diaghilev revived the Russian ballet dance with his Ballet Russes, and he established the repute of Russian Ballet worldwide with the said troupe. With the Ballet Russes, Diaghilev was able to drive artistic transformations in Russian ballet, particularly from changing the traditional dance steps and setups to modern ones. Diaghilev was born in St. Petersburg and spent his childhood there while taking academic and art classes in St. Petersburg University. Much of the influences of Diaghilev’s works take shape from his childhood experiences, particularly through his inclination to performing arts as a youth. Specifically, McDonald, in reviewing the book Diaghilev: A Life, reports that there is a distinct interplay between Diaghilev’s life and his artworks, particularly with the themes and performance style of Ballet Russes (paras. 3-6). For instance, McDonald highlights that Diaghilev's inclination to beautiful places and objects was carried on as he grew older, which was mirrored in his performances with the Ballet Russes. Diaghilev contributes much to the field of art through the Ballet Russes. Diaghilev organized the Ballet Russes in France and makes use of French-inspired dance steps and costumes. The first members of the troupe were professional dancers trained in the Tsar’s Imperial Ballet. With the Ballet Russes, Diaghilev was able to gather prominent choreographers during those times, including Vaslav Nijinsky, Fokine, Massine, and Joan Miro (Bloom paras. 1-7). Aside from associating with choreographers, Diaghilev also collaborated with world renowned musicians, such as Strauss, Schumann, Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Ravel, in creating the musical pieces for the Ballet Russes (Gottlieb para. 2). In the visual arts and costume design, the Ballet Russes also receives support from popular artists including Picasso, Rouault, and Derain. Seeing the performances of Ballet Russes, both Russian and French nobles took passion in supporting the efforts of Diaghilev in promoting the troupe to both local and international mainstream audiences. Impact on 19th Century Art Visual Diaghilev’s credit in the visual arts comes from his efforts at collaborating with painters, interior designers, and other visual art enthusiast to develop and create artworks. He sought the service of well-known artists, and collaborated with them in designing the stage and costumes for the Ballet Russes. Specifically, famous visual artists such as Picasso and Derain took part in creating the stage set-up, costumes, visual materials, and posters of Ballet Russes’ performances. According to Lille, Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes allows artists from different art trends, such as Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism and Surrealism to show their works (para. 2). Consequently, the performances of Ballet Russes serve as an exhibit featuring the works of various artists including painters, composers and choreographers. For instance, in “Parade,” Picasso shows his elaborate visual designs in the stage set up and costumes of the performers, particularly in the costumes of the prima ballerina Pavlova (Bloom para. 8). In addition, Picasso also features his designs in the set and interior decorations of the piece “Mercure.” Aside from Picasso, Ballet Russes also features the designs of Andre Derain for their costumes and stage set-ups (Garafola 407). Music Aside from inspiring the evolution of visual arts, Diaghilev also drives the evolution of 19th century music. For instance, Diaghilev introduces music to a wider audience through the Ballet Russes, and this is because he encouraged musicians, both amateur and professionals, to develop new scores for their ballet performances. However, due to his taste for the good and beautiful, Diaghilev often chose to associate with popular musicians during his time to maintain the aesthetic appeal of the Ballet Russes. For instance, Diaghilev features the scores of popular composers including Stravinsky in Petrouchka and Les Orientales, Arensky in Dance with a Torch and Schumann in Carnaval. As cited by Lille, Diaghilev’s success in Petrouchka was attained through the effective synthesis of artistic works, particularly with Benois’ costume and set design, Fokine’s choreography, and Stravinsky’s scores (para. 4). Diaghilev’s collaboration with composers helped shape the musical distinctiveness of his ballets, and this also helped revolutionize new trends in both ballet and music. Ballet and Dance With the performances of the Ballet Russes, Diaghilev was able to introduce avant-garde ballet, not only in Europe, but also in the American continent. Although a lover of beauty, Diaghilev also illustrates the social and political issues in the performances of Ballet Russes, particularly about WW1 and the Tsarist Russia. For instance, as mentioned by Scheijen, Diaghilev revived the Russian ballet and helped shape Russian modernism through the performances of Ballet Russes (paras. 5-13). Specifically, Scheijen mentions that Diaghilev created ballet pieces that focus on Russian society including aspects of Feminism, through the pieces created and performed by Nijinsky and Fokine. For instance, in Polovtsian Dances, Fokine and Diaghilev promotes realism through expressive body movements and ballet dance steps. This is what Garafola calls as “liberatory vision” wherein Diaghilev introduces the art of expressive body movements, realistic customers, and socially relevant performance theme (21). Diaghilev’s most significant contribution to 19th century art, particularly to ballet, is the introduction of Russian ballet to the international audience. For instance, the Ballet Russes was able to perform in London, Paris, and America. The most popular of which is The Sleeping Princess; it was intentionally created for his English audience, and was originally written and produced by Petipa and Tchaikovsky. Diaghilev also brought Russian Ballet to New York and established his repute there along with his ballet dancers, composers, and choreographers (Bloom paras. 2-3). Consequently, along with Diaghilev’s prominence comes the transition of ballet from its traditional style to its being modern, rich and bold. Conclusion Although Diaghilev was not a stage performer, his influence in arts, particularly in visual design, ballet and music is great, and this is attributable to his efforts in gathering the prominent artists to perform and showcase their creation in the Ballet Russes. For instance, his influence in visual arts comes from integrating the artistic works of Picasso and other visual artists, and allowing people to delight in the fascinating beauty of those creations. In music, the scores featured in Diaghilev’s ballets were created by prominent musicians, such as Stravinsky and Strauss. This allows both the musicians and Diaghilev to leverage the patronage of the people, particularly the nobles who are fond of stage performances. Lastly, through this effective management of Ballet Russes performers, Diaghilev was able to train highly capable choreographers from his ballet dancers. For instance, Nijinsky and Massine were ballet dancers, who later took over the choreography of Ballet Russes performances. Thus, in discussing the life and works of Diaghilev, one can say that Diaghilev’s influence in art lies in his capacity to bring together prominent artists and revolutionize their artworks toward modernization. Works Cited Bloom, Julie. “Admiring the Man Who Made Ballet Modern.” New York Times. New York Times, 21 Aug. 2009. Web. 22. Nov. 2012. . Facos, Michelle. An Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Art. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print. Garafola, Lynn. Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989. Print. Gottlieb, Robert. “The Master of Motion.” New York Times. New York Times, 1 Aug. 1999. Web. 22, Nov. 2012. . Lille, Dawn. “Diaghilev, the Ballets Russes and the 20th Century.” Art Times Sept.-Oct. (2009): n. pag. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. . McDonald, Jennifer B. “The Beauty Cultist.” New York Times. New York Times, 22 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2012. . Scheijen, Sjeng. “Sergei Diaghilev: Ballet, Beauty, and the Beast.” Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 21 Oct. 2009. Web. 22. Nov. 2012. . Read More