PBA Galleries

17x11¼," original pen and Indian ink and watercolor on artist board, unsigned. Tipped on verso to matting, plus board backing.

Part of a series of original ink and watercolor drawings of the famed Russian Ballet dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky (1889–1950). Verso with printed label of Sackett & Wilhelms of New York “Sketch No. 6114.” A strikingly similar drawing appears in the 1913 portfolio "Vaslav Nijinsky; an artistic interpretation of his work in black, white and gold, by Robert Montenegro." It differs from this one as follows: the image in the portfolio is embellished with a gold background; the scimitar in the present image is farther away from the dancer's body; in the present drawing, the dancer is poised atop a black and white globe, a detail lacking from the portfolio image. Montenegro's drawing of the Golden Slave has been reproduced in several books about Leon Bakst and is sometimes attributed to him.