Note: Price shown is for the pair of Cocteau posters. This extraordinary poster is both a rare historical document and a beautiful design. It advertises the 1912 debut performance of the ballet "Le Spectre de la Rose" in Monte Carlo by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe, the legendary troupe that thrilled Paris and had a major impact on European fashion and art. The male lead was performed by the immortal Vaslav Nijinsky, whose performance in this role is still considered to be unsurpassed. He and his companion, Tamara Karsavina, are considered by many the finest couple in the history of the Ballet Russe. The poster’s designer was as famous as his subject. The multi-talented Jean Cocteau was a poet, novelist, and filmmaker and an influential figure of the European intellectual elite. Stylistically, the poster is evocative of the modern fashion illustration begun in Paris in 1908 which rejected realism for a more graphic and simplified style derived from Japanese woodblock prints. Elongated figures, unshaded blocks of color and empty backgrounds all would soon become building blocks of Art Deco design. Indeed, Diagelev urged Cocteau to write for the ballet, which resulted in the avant-garde “Parade” in 1917 that was produced by Diaghilev, designed by Pablo Picasso and composed by Erik Satie. In 1913 Nijinsky was celebrated in the beautiful hand stenciled portfolio “Nijinsky” by Georges Barbier.