Sergei Diaghilev, born on 19 March 1872 in Selishchi (Russian Empire), was an impresario and creative genius. In 1909, he founded the Ballets Russes, from which many leading dancers and choreographers of the 20th century emerged. Forced into exile by the October Revolution, the company settled in a ...
Sergei Diaghilev, born on 19 March 1872 in Selishchi (Russian Empire), was an impresario and creative genius. In 1909, he founded the Ballets Russes, from which many leading dancers and choreographers of the 20th century emerged. Forced into exile by the October Revolution, the company settled in a new home at the Salle Garnier in Monte Carlo, taking the name “Les Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo”. The prestigious venue would host a succession of ballets, directed and performed by some of the greatest choreographers and dancers of the age, with music composed by the likes of Schumann, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky, and costumes and sets created by Picasso, Matisse, and Cocteau. Diaghilev died on 19 August 1929 in Venice. This sculpture by Paul Belmondo was officially unveiled on 8 March 1973 as part of commemorations to mark the centenary of Sergei Diaghilev’s birth. The bust was unveiled by Princess Grace, at a ceremony in the presence of Prince Rainier III and the artist himself.
Born in 1898 in Algiers to an Italian family, Paul Belmondo had a passion for drawing. Passionate about drawing, he began sculpting in 1911, before studying architecture at the School of Fine Arts in Algiers. He continued his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris where he took classes with Jean Boucher. He was awarded the Blumenthal prize in 1926, the grand prix artistique de la Ville d'Alger in 1932 and the grand prix de la Ville de Paris in 1936. His meeting with Charles Despiau was decisive. The return to classicism will guide his work. He was appointed professor of drawing at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris in 1956. Member of the Institute of France, he was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in 1960. Paul Belmondo came regularly to the Principality, notably as a member of the Jury of the Grand Prix International d'Art Contemporain de Monte-Carlo in 1978 and 1979. He died in Paris in 1982.
