Serge Lifar, Paris
Acquired by the present owner in 2000

Paris, Galerie Vignon, Collection de peintures de nos jours appartenant à Serge Lifar, 1929

Werner Spies, Max Ernst, Oeuvre-Katalog: Werke 1925-1929, Cologne, 1976, no. 996, illustrated p. 105
Robert McNab, Ghost Ships, A Surrealist Love Traingle, New Haven, 2004, no. 82, illustrated in colour p. 164

The canvas is not lined and UV examination reveals no evidence of retouching. There is a tiny paint loss to the centre of the left edge and a further few tiny paint losses to the upper left corner, all of which are due to frame rubbing. There is some light surface dirt in places, and a pin-sized hole towards the lower left corner (all of which is visible in the catalogue illustration). Otherwise, this work is in overall very good condition. Colours: overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, though the yellows and blues are more saturated and brighter in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present work is a study that Max Ernst did for a stage design for Constant Lamber's Romeo and Juliet, perfomed by Diaghilev Nijinska's Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo in 1926. The first owner of this work was the dancer and choreographer Serge Lifar, who joined the Ballet Russe in 1923 at the age of eighteen. Diaghilev was immediately struck by Lifar's dance and, under his sponsorship, went on to become one of the greatest dancers and choreographers of the twentieth century. 'For a long time', wrote Arnold Haskell, 'the Russian ballet had been considered bourgeois by the Surrealist group [...] the obvious thing to do was to commission décor from some of the group and win them over that way'. In 1926 they commissioned Max Ernst and Joan Miró to design the curtains and the front cloth respectively of the Ba🐽llet Russe of Monte Carlo. This collaboration was a great success and led to other major Surrealist artists such as Dali to do similar collaborations.