Gelatin silver print of the ballet legend performing his L'Après-midi d'un Faune, photographed by the noted Hollywood cinematographer and photographer in New York City, 1916. Photographer's stamp and estate stamp to verso. Overall good condition. Silver mirroring to darkest shadows and edges of image. Scattered crazing and hairline scratches visible under raking light. Minor chipping to extreme edges. Sheet is cornered to board. Window mat measures 14 by 11 inches. Unframed. 4.8 x 3.5 inches (12.4 x 8.9 cm.).

The first choreographic effort by Nijinsky, L’Après-Midi d’un Faune signaled a change in choreographic aesthetic of both the Ballets Russes and the dance world as a whole and heralded the waning of Fokine’s influence within the company.  With movements based on classical bas-reliefs and ancient Greek vase paintings, focusing on on male sensuality through the lens of mythology, Nijinsky challenged the imitative realism of Fokine to present a ballet that was more modern, immediate, and wholly realized as a complete art form than anyone had ever seen. 

The symphonic poem by Claude Debussy Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) was inspired by the poem L'après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé and is likewise considered a turning point in the history of music; Pierre Boulez considered the score to be the beginning of modern music, observing that "the flute of the faun brought new breath to the art of music." About his composition Debussy wrote: "The music of this prelude is a very free illustration of Mallarmé's beautiful poem. By no means does it claim to be a synthesis of it. Rather there is a succession of scenes through which pass the desires and dreams of the faun in the heat of the afternoon. Then, tired of pursuing the timorous flight of nymphs and naiads, he succumbs to intoxicating sleep, in which he can finally realize his dreams of possession in universal Nature."

American photographer Karl Struss was also known as a cinematographer and was one of the earliest pioneers of 3-D films ("stereo cinematography"). In 1919, he moved from New York to Los Angeles and signed on with Cecil B. DeMille as a cameraman and subsequently worked on many films.