How could homosexual men meet up at a time when same-sex sexual relationships were illegal in Sweden? Which places became havens for encounters between gay men?
Rolf de Maré was born in Stockholm in 1888 as the son of diplomat Henrik de Maré and sculptor Ellen Roosval von Hallwyl. In 1912 he made friends with post-impressionist painter Nils von Dardel .
In 1918, through Dardel, de Maré met Jean Börlin and de Maré became lover and protector of the Swedish dancer.
De Maré created in 1920 the Ballets Suédois at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris of which Börlin was first dancer and choreographer. In the autumn of 1924 Giorgio de Chirico curated the scenography and costumes for Pirandello's La Giara.
De Maré invited Dardel on trips, bought his art and was himself introduced to the artist circles in Paris to which Dardel belonged. In this way, de Maré began his art collection.
He bought works by Picasso , Léger and Braque - directly from the artists themselves. de Maré and Dardel traveled a lot. In 1914 they traveled to Tunisia, Algeria, Spain, Tenerife and the Canary Islands. In 1917 they traveled to America and from there went on a trip around the world. De Maré and Dardel's relationship is believed to have been close and intimate during these trips.
In 1931 de Maré founded Les Archives internationales de la Danse (AID) in Paris in his memory, the world's first museum and research institute for dance.
After WWII material from the Swedish Ballet in Paris and from de Maré's many trips to all corners of the world ended up in Stockholm, where the Dansmuseet opened in the premises of the Royal Theatre. Rolf de Maré bequeathed his collection of modern art to the Moderna Museetin Stockholm.