A major new biography of Serge Diaghilev, founder of the Ballet Russes, who revolutionised ballet, bringing together composers such as Stravinsky and Prokofiev, dancers and choreographers such as Nijinsky and Karsavina, Fokine and Balanchine, and artists including Picasso and Matisse.
Diaghilev (1872-1929) is a character on the scale of myth. Growing up in a minor noble family in remote Perm, as a very young man he became an influential writer on art and a publisher in St Petersburg. Moving soon to the bigger stage of Paris, he became a central figure during the golden age of modern art. He lived through bankruptcy, war, revolution and exile. His relationships with Nijinsky, Stravinsky, Coco Chanel, Prokofiev and Jean Cocteau gave his life an exceptionally dramatic quality.
Scheijen's magnificent biography, based on extensive research and little known Russian archives, reveals this complex, powerful and inspiring man, whose boundless creative energy influenced the course of modern culture.
Hardback, 552 pages, illustrated throughout, including colour plates.
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