Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris 1825 - 1890

Editor: This is Eugène Cicéri's "Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris," probably created sometime between 1825 and 1890, using pencil, charcoal, and some kind of printmaking technique. It feels quite somber and dreamlike to me, like a faded memory. What do you see in this piece? Curator: What strikes me is the artificiality of nature. It’s nature carefully constructed, manipulated, literally built on a stage. The piece hints at the way landscape, even nature itself, can become a stage for societal narratives and power structures. We have to consider who designs these landscapes, and for whom? Editor: That's a very interesting way to put it! It’s not just a neutral backdrop. It almost feels…complicit? Curator: Exactly! Consider the Opéra in Paris, and who frequented it during that era. Landscape becomes a marker of status, of cultural capital. This carefully controlled "nature" reinforces social hierarchies by excluding those who didn’t fit into that specific worldview. How do you see the romanticism tag fitting into this? Editor: I guess the Romantic movement idealized nature but…maybe this is subverting that? Showing the constructed version instead of a pure one? Curator: Precisely. It’s a critique embedded within the design. The stage isn’t just presenting a scene; it's presenting a carefully curated *version* of reality designed to uphold certain ideological viewpoints. The inherent issues around accessibility of the art institution can reflect the artwork, and vice versa. Editor: That really makes me rethink how I see stage design and landscape art in general. Thanks for making that point! Curator: Absolutely, I'm glad to share this new view, seeing the stage itself as a socio-political statement and constructed viewpoint.