NEVER before seen costumes and artwork from Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes will join an exhibition of works by French master Matisse in a first for the City Art Gallery and Museum in Worcester.
For the first time ever in the UK stories from the Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes will be told through costumes, programmes and objects.
And the show will run with Matisse: Drawing with Scissors – a Hayward Gallery Touring exhibition from the Southbank Centre London.
The exhibitions are free to enter and run from Saturday, February 2 until Saturday, April 27.
Ballet impresario and art critic, Diaghilev was founder Ballets Russes the most spectacular and scandalous ballet company of the early 1900s and this unique collection of costume and ephemera tells their story.
World famous French artist Henri Matisse was one of many artists commissioned to create costumes and scenery for the company and the exhibition includes work by other great artists of the period including Dame Laura Knight.
Matisse was one of the 20th century’s most influential artists.
His vibrant works are celebrated for their extraordinary richness and luminosity of colour and his spectacular paper cut-outs were his final triumph.
This exhibition features 35 lithographic reproductions of the famous cut-outs he produced in the last years of his life and includes iconic images such as The Snail and the Blue Nudes.
Museum curator Philippa Tinsley said: “We are very excited to bring these two fabulous exhibitions to Worcester.
“We are very proud to be the first venue in the UK to show the Ballets Russes collection.
“It is an extraordinary collection of objects illustrating just how spectacular the Ballets Russes was in the early 1900s.
“Matisse: Drawing with Scissors will be a visual delight for all visitors; spring will be an exciting time to visit Worcester Art Gallery & Museum.”
More information can be found at www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk and people can discover more about Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes from Philippa at 1pm on Tuesday, March 12 at a special talk. Tickets are £3 per person on 01905 25371.
