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

This stage set design for the Paris Opéra was created by Eugène Cicéri in the 19th century, using graphite and paper. What’s interesting here is the way that a very traditional drawing medium – graphite – is used to depict a space of complete artifice. The monumental stone architecture is all about the outward show of wealth and power. The very fine and subtle gradations of the graphite help to lend the design a sense of realism. However, if we were to see it translated into a stage set, we would quickly realize the total illusion of it all. The design is more than just a rendering, it is also a kind of plan, and would be handed off to others for fabrication – a whole crew of stagehands, carpenters, and painters, all of whom would be essential to completing the fantasy. It suggests a highly stratified workshop structure, with Cicéri at its head. This drawing reminds us that even the most rarefied forms of artistic expression are dependent on many unseen hands.