Valentine HugoFrench, 1887–1968Petrushka
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Petrushka” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Original drawing by Valentine Gross in 1912 on tracing paper of three Nursemaids circling round behind a bearded Coachman who is performing 'cobblers' in the fourth scene of Mikhail Fokine's ballet Petrushka, Diaghlev Ballets Russes.
Diaghilev Ballets Russes Petrushka (also transliterated Petrouchka) was first premiered in Paris at Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 June 1911, according to Diaghilev and The Golden Age of The Ballets Russes 1909 - 1929, edited by Jane Pritchard, first published by V&A Publishing in 2010. This production is set in the carnival atmosphere of a pre-Lenten fair in 19th century St. Petersburg. Valentine Gross woodcut-style drawings of nursemaids dancing with coachmen or grooms at the fair were worked up for use in souvenir programmes and publications.
Read on
The sketches are part of the Valentine Gross Archive (THM/165), held by the V&A Department of Theatre and Performance. 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 Search the Collections webpage.
Valentine Gross, a.k.a. Valentine Hugo, was a French art student in Paris in the 1910s. 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 1919. She later worked them up into pencil or coloured drawings of various degrees of finish including illustrations and paintings.
Some of the sketches feature in the book Nijinsky on Stage by Richard Buckle, published in London by Studio Vista in 1971.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- S.2310-2009
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
