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

This stage set design for the Paris Opéra was made by Eugène Cicéri using graphite on paper. The paper is gridded, suggesting a scaling-up process for scenic construction. Consider the materiality here. Graphite, essentially processed carbon, leaves a trace of the artist's hand but does not deliver the final product. Rather, it's a means to an end, a set of instructions. Look closely, and you'll notice the rough edges of the paper, and the faint grid lines underneath the drawing itself. These imperfections remind us that it's an everyday material, not precious in itself. Cicéri’s sketch was a vital step towards the glamorous illusion of the opera. A small piece of paper like this one would have been translated into a large-scale, immersive environment, involving the labor of many skilled hands: carpenters, painters, and stagehands. All of this work, typically unacknowledged, enabled the spectacle of the opera. This drawing is a reminder of the huge amount of work involved. So, next time you see a performance, remember the labor that makes it possible.