Portrait of Léonide Massine

Massine (1895-1979) was chosen when still in his teens by Diaghilev to become the leading male dancer and choreographer of the Ballets Russes in the company's middle period (1914-21). Early in his career, Massine collaborated with Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie and Pablo Picasso on the 1917 ballet Parade; he worked in the same year with Leon Bakst, who designed his Les femmes de bonne humeur. One of Massine' s enduring successes, La boutique fantasque, dates from 1919. Bakst made the first designs, exhibited here, for the set and costumes for this ballet, but they were rejected by Diaghilev who chose Andre Derain to complete the project. Matisse's portrait of Massine was drawn during the preparation of Massine' s ballet Le chant du Rossignol, for which Matisse designed the sets and costumes.