Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris 1830 - 1890

This stage set design was made by Eugène Cicéri in Paris, using pencil and watercolor on paper. It is not just a sketch, but a carefully rendered fragment suggesting a much larger scene. The colors are muted, and the touch delicate, as befits watercolor. Yet the design also shows the hand of someone experienced in the industrial process of theater production. Note how the edge of the paper is carefully cut to shape, allowing it to be overlaid on another sheet to build up a complete image. This was no idle pastime, but piecework produced within a complex system of labor. Indeed, Cicéri's studio was a veritable assembly line, employing many specialists. So, while this design may seem charming, it’s also a reminder of the coordinated effort that went into creating the spectacle of 19th-century opera. It is through understanding its modes of production, that the art reveals its true significance.