Artist:
Jamie Wyeth
(American, b. 1946)
Sitter:
Rudolf Nureyev
(Russian, 1938 - 1993)
Nureyev - Purple Scarf
Medium: Pencil, gouache, and watercolor on toned rag board
Date: 2001
Dimensions:
35 1/2 × 25 1/2 in. (90.2 × 64.8 cm)
Accession number: 2019.6
Copyright: © Jamie Wyeth / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Label Copy:
This sketch of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev shows the dancer as he often appeared when leaving a performance—in a black beret and dramatic violet scarf, still in full stage makeup. Created eight years after the dancer’s death, this drawing is a part of a long series of portraits Jamie Wyeth made of Nureyev beginning in 1977. To ensure the greatest accuracy, Wyeth carefully measured every part of the dancer’s body, taking detailed notes in his sketchbooks. With bold, graphic lines, Wyeth recreates from memory the spectacle Nureyev presented during his lifetime.
Curatorial RemarksFrom Jamie Wyeth Collection files: "Following a matinee performance, Nureyev would leave the theater through the stage door, often still wearing his performance make-up. There always was a throng of admirers and balletomanes awaiting him. They would plead for autographs, take photographs and shower him with gifts and flowers. I viewed this ritual as a mini-performance: the audience of adoring fans and the costumed star. In this particular painting Nureyev wears his elegant purple scarf; slightly dusted with his white pancake makeup and his ubiquitous green beret. Often, with this unfriendly expression, 'Don't approach me,' he would stride through the crowd to his waiting limousine. Other times, he would sign autographs and pose for pictures and accept the gifts before disappearing into the New York night."