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
53.668.259
Tags
Art Historical Context
Eugène Cicéri's *Design for a Stage Set* (ca. 1830–90) captures the grandeur of 19th-century French theatre, a time when opulent productions at venues like the Paris Opéra dazzled audiences with elaborate scenery. Cicéri, a renowned scenic designer and painter, specialized in creating immersive backdrops for ballets, operas, and plays, blending architectural precision with dramatic flair. This drawing, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, exemplifies his role in the Romantic era's theatrical renaissance, where stagecraft became an art form unto itself. Re...
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...