We were at the opening last night of the V&A autumn blockbuster, Diaghilev and the golden age of the Ballets Russes 1909-1929, and it’s fair to say that it’s astonishing.
It’s rare that exhibitions manage to find a way to fuse dance, art, design, music, costume and social history together, but this is one of those.
Here are some sneaky and shaky camera-phone pics that don’t do it much justice, sorry.
The centrepiece is a vast backdrop used for performances of Stravinsky’s The Firebird in the twenties and thirties - the largest single object in the V&A.
The reverse is a massive enlargement of Picasso’s Two Women Running on the Beach, enlarged to the size of a three storey house from an original painted on a small piece of board.
Very, very highly recommended.
Starts this Saturday (25th) and ends early January.