He did not paint, and with the exception of several (very talented) articles, he did not write; he had no interest either in architecture or sculpture; he had been completely disillusioned in his attempts at musical composition and he had dropped his singing. In other words Seriozha Diahilev did not practise in any sphere of art but nevertheless all his activities in these fields bore the stamp of a creative mind! I am convinced that notwithstanding all the work done by those representatives of Russian art (in literature, painting, music and the theatre) who took part in the exhibitions arranged by Mir Iskusstva; notwithstanding the work of those who later applied their talents to the enterprise which has now taken its place in history under the name of Les Spectacles Russes de Serge de Diaghilev; I am, I repeat, convinced that these ventures would never have taken shape had Diaghilev not take charge of them and been at their head. He brought his amazing energy to these many talents which themselves were lacking in only one thing - a creative will. It was only from the moment that this amazing man begun to want something that things began to happen, to take form and shape.
Memoirs [volume 2] by Alexandre Benois. 1964. Page 81.
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