Firebird

Some of the sketches, including this one, feature in the book Nijinsky on Stage by Richard Buckle, published in London by Studio Vista in 1971. This drawing, which features in the book on page 55, is part of a series of four pages of working drawings/ sketches showing Valentine Gross working process from preminary sketches to finish drawing. Richard Buckle showed several of Valentine Gross’s sketches to Tamara Karsavina and she picked this as giving the most truthful impression. The sketches are part of the Valentine Gross Archive (THM/165), held by the V&A. Valentine Gross Archive contains research material and artwork, including sketches, studies, drawings, pastels and illustrations. Only the artwork materials have been catalogued with museum numbers and given item level descriptions found in the Explore the Collections webpage.

Valentine Gross (1887 – 1968) was a French student at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and was still a student when the Russian dancers first performed in Paris. She became a ballet enthusiast, illustrator, researcher and painter. Valentine Gross witnessed annual seasons of Diaghilev Ballets Russes in Paris and made preminary sketches during performances and rehearsals between 1909 and 1914. She later worked them up into pencil or coloured drawings of various degrees of finish including illustrations and paintings.

With the sketches made at rehearsal and performance she captured the essence of the ballets. She would work up the images into pastels which she displayed in theatre foyers and sold to Comoedia Illustré. Gross was married to the designer Jean Hugo 1919 (they later divorced) and it was a result of Richard Buckle’s friendship with Hugo that they were acquired by the V&A.