The Collection of Drawings at the Louvre is home to 94 drawings of ballet performances, which Daniel Rabel (1578-1637) illustrated for the court. First employed as an official painter, he later became one of the most popular designers of court ballets. Requiring a large orchestra and lavish scenography, these ballets were often performed by the nobility and even the king himself.
Rabel’s drawings continue to delight us thanks to their sense of the grotesque and exuberant humour.