This interdisciplinary study combines a broad history of Diaghilev's troupe with close readings of four ballets designed by canonial modernist artists: Pablo Picasso, Sonia Delaunay, Henri Matisse, and Giorgio de Chirico. Analyzing interaction among sets, customes, choreography, and musical accompaniment, the book establishes what the Ballets Russes' productions looked like and how audiences reacted to them.