Natalia Goncharova (1881-1962)

Inspired by his travels through Northern Italy in 1915-16, Sergei Diaghilev began working with Léonide Massine shortly after on an idea for a ballet based on the art and religious rites of the Renaissance and of Byzantium. Goncharova was commissioned to produce designs based on the music of Russian Church Plain Chant for a performance which was to comprise of a series of moving tableaux narrating the life of Christ through music and dance. While the production did not come to fruition, the pochoirs subsequent created from some of her finest designs testify to the visionary nature of the project.