Rudolf Nureyev has been on my mind after seeing the film The White Crow in which a young Nureyev becomes a top ballet dancer in Russia, but a life-changing visit to Paris soon makes him seek asylum in France.

Digging around I found photos from a feature about his Paris digs first published in Architectural Digest in September 1985.

Mon Dieu—knock me over—the fabric, the furnishings, the man. Nureyev was pure class and fantasy. His taste was over-the-top and too much for some but oh la la—so Paris, so ballet, so epically an expression of the dancer Nureyev!

Here is some history: Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) was a dancer and  director of the Paris Opera Ballet as well as the Chief of Choreography.  Nureyev’s apartment was located  at 23 Quai Voltaire in Paris with a great view of  the Seine and the Louvre .

Nureyev was born in Russia defected to the West in 1961 and his Paris apartment was an eclectic blend of the best neoclassical elements from Russian, French, and Italian decorative arts. His Parisian apartment—where he spent most of his time—was designed by Emilio Carcano,  who trained under Lila de Noboli.

Beside the Paris apartment, Nureyev had six other homes, which includes a villa above Monte Carlo, a London house, an apartment in the Dakota building in New York, a ranch in Virginia, homes on Saint Barthélemy’s in the Caribbean, and off Italy on the Galli Islands.