Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris
1830–90
Medium
Graphite on blue paper
Dimensions
Irregular sheet: 8 7/16 x 5 9/16 in. (21.5 x 14.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Henry T. Curtis, 1953
Accession Number
53.668.186
Tags
Art Historical Context
Eugène Cicéri’s “Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris” offers a rare glimpse into the creative process behind nineteenth-century theatrical spectacle. Working in graphite on blue paper, Cicéri produced this compact sketch between 1830 and 1890, when the Paris Opéra stood at the center of European cultural life. The cool-toned paper allowed him to build atmospheric depth with subtle gradations of light and shadow, a technique well suited to envisioning dramatic lighting effects on stage. As a leading set designer of the Romantic era, Cicéri helped transform opera into a total visual expe...
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...