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

Curator: This watercolor, tempera, and print rendering, "Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris," likely conceived between 1830 and 1890, offers an intriguing glimpse into 19th-century scenic design. Its creator is Eugène Cicéri. Editor: Whoa, I'm instantly hit by its incompleteness, its almost ghostly air. It's like peering into a memory, faded at the edges, yearning to be brought back to life on stage. Curator: Precisely. Consider how Cicéri uses perspective. The architecture, although fragmented in representation, implies an enormous depth and scale. Observe how he manipulates the vanishing point to create a believable space—a hallmark of academic training and design. Editor: Totally. And it’s like, the very lack of completion enhances that feeling. Our minds fill in the gaps, right? We complete the drama unfolding in our imaginations as if we are indeed, seated in the opera house. It almost *demands* the narrative to take place! Curator: I concur. Note, also, the detailing on the proscenium arch—the decorative molding and friezes. The layering of colors in the watercolors to create depth—the light source that’s implied by the shading. These devices would be crucial in creating *illusion* for an audience. Editor: It’s kind of cool, how Cicéri combined all these mediums—print, tempera, and watercolor! Very elaborate... And, in places where it's roughly sketched, one really can perceive that the whole artwork, literally, frames just *an idea*! Curator: It is exactly that: an idea, materialized and, interestingly, poised for collaborative interpretations across the director, the actors, and even us. Editor: It almost prompts a question: how do you prepare the viewer psychologically for what they are about to experience... The sense of expectancy—palpable even within the silence of this study—remains pretty magnetic to me.