Framed Design for a Stage Set with Arches, Stairs, Human Figure and Sphinx Statue. 1772 - 1842

Editor: This drawing, “Framed Design for a Stage Set with Arches, Stairs, Human Figure and Sphinx Statue,” made sometime between 1772 and 1842 by Mauro Berti, strikes me as both grand and dreamlike. The ink and watercolor give it an ethereal quality, even with all those imposing architectural details. What captures your attention when you look at this piece? Curator: The fantastical! Berti isn't just designing a stage; he's conjuring a world. I imagine Piranesi and perhaps even a touch of theatrical madness from someone like John Soane, swimming in Berti’s aesthetic soup. Notice how the arches and stairways seem to multiply endlessly, creating a sense of infinite space…or maybe infinite possibility? I see history-painting meets landscape here. What about you? Editor: It’s like a historical mashup, and that sphinx definitely doesn’t hurt that sensation! The scene’s muted colors almost make it feel ancient, but then the architectural details hint at more modern, Neoclassical influence. It almost feels like he’s designing not just a stage set, but a portal. Curator: A portal – I like that! And perhaps it’s a portal into the artist’s mind. After all, these stage designs weren’t always destined to be built. Sometimes, the act of imagining them was the point, a sort of free-wheeling exploration through history and architectural form. Are we looking at a purely academic exercise? Or could it be a deeply personal vision draped in classical garb? Editor: So, it's not just about how grand it looks on the outside, but about what's going on in Berti's head as he created it? I suppose I never thought of it that way, but the intensely rendered, almost obsessive, detail seems more meaningful to me now. Curator: Precisely! It invites you to get wonderfully lost, doesn't it? That to me, is the true magic trick.