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Lot Essay
Laura Knight moved from Cornwall to London in January 1919 where she gained permission to paint behind the scenes of Diaghilev's Ballet Russe at the Coliseum. This new subject matter absorbed Knight entirely and she attended every show, delighting in the excitement and artificiality of the spectacle.
The present picture is almost certainly a backstage scene of the Diaghilev Ballet in the early 1920s. The dancer on the left of the painting, dressed in a black and white costume, can tentatively be identified as Stanislas Idzikowski. Idzikowski famously played the Harlequin in Carnival in 1920.
We are grateful to John Croft for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.
The present picture is almost certainly a backstage scene of the Diaghilev Ballet in the early 1920s. The dancer on the left of the painting, dressed in a black and white costume, can tentatively be identified as Stanislas Idzikowski. Idzikowski famously played the Harlequin in Carnival in 1920.
We are grateful to John Croft for his help in preparing this catalogue entry.