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
53.668.248
Tags
Art Historical Context
Eugène Cicéri (1813–1890), a leading French painter and scenic designer of the Romantic era, created this *Design for a Stage Set* sometime between 1830 and 1890. Active during a golden age of Parisian theater, Cicéri specialized in elaborate backdrops for grand operas, ballets, and spectacles at venues like the Opéra and Théâtre-Italien. His designs brought Romantic fantasies to life, evoking exotic landscapes, majestic palaces, and dramatic atmospheres that captivated 19th-century audiences. As a preparatory drawing from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection—genero...
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...