BARON ADOLPH DE MEYER (1868–1946)

Cecil Beaton said of Nijinsky, 'We have heard of the leap, the lightness, dynamic agility. It is hard to reconcile the simpering, muscle-bound clod of the Bassano pictures with the verbal reports that have come down to us; but the frivolous De Meyer, with his camera, pioneer spirit, and touching zest, spent an afternoon photographing Le Spectre de la rose, the Faun from L'Apres-midi... The results of that afternoon lead one to appreciate that this strange-looking dancer did, in fact, possess a steel-trap agility the gaiety of youth, the lyrical and exciting qualities which have now become part of history' (Philippe Jullian, De Meyer, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1976, pp. 29-30).