Design for The Magic Flute: The Hall of Stars in the Palace of the Queen of the Night, Act 1, Scene 6
Medium
Aquatint printed in color and hand colored
Dimensions
image: 9 x 13 3/4 in. (22.8 x 35 cm) plate: 11 3/16 x 15 3/4 in. (28.4 x 40 cm) sheet: 13 13/16 x 20 3/16 in. (35.1 x 51.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
Accession Number
54.602.1(14)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting aquatint print, between 1847 and 1849 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel alongside Karl Friedrich Thiele and Wilhelm Wittich, captures pivotal scene from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's beloved opera *The Magic Fl* (Die Zauberflöte). Titled *Design for The Magic Fl: The Hall of Stars the Palace of the Queen the Night, Act 1, Scene 6*, it depicts the ethereal throne room bathed in celestial light, where the dramatic Queen—symbol of night, moon, and stars—first appears to Tamino. The starry vaulted ceiling and luminous motifs evoke the opera's blend of Freemasonic allegory, Enlightenment ideal...
About the Artist
Karl Friedrich Thiele|Karl Friedrich Schinkel|Ludwig Wilhelm Wittich (German|German) · 1780 |1781 –1836 |1841
German, 1780–1836|German, Neuruppin 1781–1841 Berlin