Jean Target
Serge Golovine, Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo, 1949
1949

About the Item

This artwork titled "Serge Golovine, Grand Ballet de Monte Carlo" 1949 is a watercolor and crayon on paper by noted French artist Jean Target, 1910-1997 It is signed at the lower right corner, titled at the upper right corner by the artist, and dedicated by Serge Golovine to the artist, at the lower left corner. The artwork size is 11.75 x 9 inches, framed is 21 x 18 inches. it is beautifully custom framed in a wooden silver frame, with matting and silver color spacer. it is in excellent condition, the colors are fresh and bright. About the artist. Jean Target was born in France in 1910. From a very young age early on, he was impassioned by the two forms of art that would remain the focal point of his career for all his life: visual arts and performing arts. In the 30s and 40s, as a young man, Jean Target frequented the Parisian theaters and cabarets, just like his role model, the famous impressionist painter Toulouse Lautrec, did at the end of the 19th century. Jean became friends with many performers and captured many formal as well as candid depictions. He gained exclusive access and used this privilege to create art with unparalleled perspective as an insider to the seedy, dark, yet glamorous underworld of Parisian cabaret. He drew the dancers on-site, capturing the dancer’s movements in his immediately recognizable signature style. In the 40s and 50s, he continued his artistic career, gaining recognition among collectors in France and all over Europe. His work depicting the Parisian performing art scene captures the feeling and history of the the theater and golden age of cabaret in Paris. Jean Target continued to draw, paint and sculpt until his death in 1997. The work of Jean Target is held in collections and museums worldwide including the world renowned Victoria And Albert Museum in London. About the subject. Serge Golovine, a star of the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas in the 1950's who was considered one of the most brilliant dancers of his generation. As popular as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov in later years, Mr. Golovine was known for the airborne quality, lightness and virtuosity of his dancing. His best-known roles were the Blue Bird in ''The Sleeping Beauty,'' where the articulation and elegance of his footwork were seen to their best advantage, and the title role of ''Le Spectre de la Rose.'' He was also greatly praised for his poignant portrayal of Petrouchka, which he danced at the Paris Opera in the 1970's. Mr. Golovine was a leading teacher at the ballet school at the Paris Opera from 1981 to 1997. He stood out for the gentleness and quiet wit of his teaching in master classes last summer at the New York University School of Education, where he was a guest professor with his wife, Claude Bessy, the director of the Paris Opera Ballet School. Mr. Golovine, born in Monte Carlo, was one of three siblings who became noted dancers. (His sister, Solange, died several years ago. George Goviloff, a brother, is now the director of the Theatre de la Danse in Avignon.) He began his training in Nice with Julie Sedova, a former Maryinsky dancer, followed by studies with Gustave Ricaux at the Paris Opera. Mr. Golovine made his professional debut at 17 with the Nouveaux Ballets de Monte Carlo, a refuge for dancers reluctant to perform in Paris during the German occupation. He joined the Paris Opera Ballet in 1947 but left in 1950 to join the de Cuevas company. During his years with the troupe, which he left in 1962, Mr. Golovine created the role of Iphias in John Taras's ''Piege de Lumiere.'' His repertory also included the ''Black Swan'' pas de deux from ''Swan Lake,'' ''Les Sylphides'' and the lead male roles in ''Giselle'' and the Bournonville production of ''La Sylphide.'' He effectively retired from the stage in 1964, when he joined the Geneva Ballet as its resident choreographer and ballet master through 1968. Mr. Golovine's best-known ballets were ''Feu Rouge, Feu Vert'' and ''La Mort de Narcisse.'' He was considered an expert in the staging of ballets from the 20th-century Russian repertory. He also taught for Maurice Bejart and at schools throughout the world, including those of the Danish and English Royal Ballet companies, American Ballet Theater and the Australian Ballet. Mr. Golovine and Ms. Bessy, his childhood sweetheart, married in 1996 after several marriages for each. In his last performance, in April, Mr. Golovine played the stalwart old general to Ms. Bessy's fierce but flirtatious headmistress in David Lichine's ''Graduation Ball'' at the Paris Opera Ballet School. He was inducted into the Legion of Honor in June. He died on July 31 1998 at the Hopital Ambroise-Pare in Paris. He was 73 and lived in Paris.

Creator:

Jean Target (1910 - 1997)

Creation Year:

1949

Dimensions:

Height: 21 in (53.34 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)

Medium:

Watercolor

Movement & Style:

Realist

Period:

Mid-20th Century