View of a Theater (Bayreuth): Exterior Elevation of the Facade; Central Portal Surmounted by Royal Crown
1696–1756
Medium
Pen, brown ink and gray wash
Dimensions
22 11/16 x 21 7/8 in. (57.6 x 55.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Bequest of Joseph H. Durkee, by exchange, 1972
Accession Number
1972.713.53a
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the dramatic world of 18th-century European theater with Giuseppe Galliiena's *View of a Theater (reuth): Exterior Elevation the Facade; Central Portal Surmounted by Crown*. This meticulous architectural drawing, created during Bibiena's lifetime (1696–1756), the imposing front of the Bayreuth theater, its central portal crowned by a royal emblem—a nod to the princely patronage that fueled Baroque spectacle. Bibiena hailed from the illustriousiena family, Italian masters of scenic design and perspective illusion who transformed opera houses across Europe.ed in pen with brown ink and...
About the Artist
Giuseppe Galli Bibiena
Giuseppe Galli Bibiena was born on January 5, 1696, in Parma, into what would become the most celebrated dynasty of theatrical designers in Baroque Europe. He was the second son of Ferdinando Galli Bibiena, who was himself a transformative figure in stage design and the originator of the family's defining innovation: the scena per angolo, or "scene viewed at an angle." This technique replaced the ...