Design for a Stage Set
1830–90
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Henry T. Curtis, 1953
Accession Number
53.668.249
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Design for a Stage Set** by Eugène Cicéri1813–1890) the theatrical imagination of 19th-century France. Cicéri, a master scenic designer for Paris's grand opera houses like the Opéra and Opéra-Comique, specialized in creating immersive worlds for Romantic ballets and operas. This, from his active career spanning 183090, likely served as a preparatory blueprint for a stage backdrop featuring lush trees, evoking enchanted forests or pastoral scenes popular in works by composers like Meyerbeer or Auber. In an era when theater was evolving into spectacular entertainment, Cicéri's designs revolut...
About the Artist
Eugène Cicéri · 1813–1890
Étienne Eugène Cicéri (1813-1890) was a French painter, lithographer, and theatrical designer who became a notable figure in the Barbizon School movement. Born in Paris on January 27, 1813, into an illustrious artistic family, he was the son of renowned scenographer Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri and the nephew of painter Eugène Isabey. Cicéri occupies an important position in 19th-century French land...