One of the five figures modelled by Paul Scheurich from the ballet ‘Le Carnaval’ performed by the Ballets Russes.
Dimensions
28.5cm high, 20.5cm wide, 13.5cm deep
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Paul Scheurich’s first models for the Meissen factory were those based on characters from the ballet “Le Carnaval”, which was performed several times by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes between 1910 and 1912 in Berlin. Diaghilev’s company and their performances sparked excitement across Europe in the early 1910s and many great names in music and modern art worked with them throughout the next 20 years, such as Ravel, Debussy, Strauss, Picasso and Braque.
Due to his profound interest in theatre and music, it is likely that Scheurich went to see the ballet during their highly-publicised performances of 1912. In the same year Scheurich worked with the publishers Fritz Gurlitt, Berlin, who published a folder of illustrations with the title ‘Pierrot’, depicting Commedia dell’Arte figures in daily life which resemble the figures from ‘Le Carnaval’ (Rafael 1995c, p. 59-60 and fig. 5), suggesting that he created the porcelain models in the same year and no earlier. Early drawings and photographs of the dancers show how the porcelain models are definite renditions of the characters in the ballet, incorporating many of the original costume designs by Leon Bakst. Scheurich first brought the models to the factory at the end of 1912 and they were purchased for their production by Max Adolf Pfeiffer in June 1913 for 2500 Marks. Scheurich’s decoration suggestions followed in January 1914 and the first completed figures were ready in February of the same year (Rafael 1995a, p.22).
For a detailed discussion of Scheurich’s ballet models, see Rafael 1995c.
