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

Curator: This drawing offers us a peek behind the curtains, so to speak. What we have here is Eugène Cicéri’s "Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris," dating sometime between 1830 and 1890, executed in mixed media—primarily drawing—on paper. Editor: It feels like a memory, faint and fragmented. The color palette is almost entirely monochrome, giving it a ghostly, ethereal quality. Curator: Precisely. What I find particularly fascinating is the way Cicéri reveals his process so openly. The very material of the drawing—the paper itself—is left unadorned, showing its own history through discoloration and slight imperfections. Editor: It also highlights the constructed nature of the scene. We aren't meant to fully suspend our disbelief. We're reminded this is artifice. Do you think that was the intention? Curator: I believe so. Theatre design of this period often incorporated elaborate stage machinery and techniques. This design probably reflects that awareness of technology. And the medium highlights the economic considerations—the paper itself and its availability at that time. Editor: The pencil lines, especially in the trees, are beautifully delicate. The sharp lines contrast nicely against the cut-out sections on the paper. There is this suggestion of depth without having much variation in texture. Curator: Consider the intended audience too: the designers, builders, painters. A relatively disposable creation made for communication among a workforce with shared goals to bring beauty to the operagoers. Editor: Right. And there is that almost palpable feeling of fleeting beauty – as in, stage designs, sets—they’re there and then vanish. And is there a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of existence itself somewhere in this set drawing? Curator: Maybe. What lingers is the artist's process—a visual record that remains. Something about the labor involved to set the stage feels much more tangible here. Editor: Absolutely. And that ghost-like, memory quality makes it intensely compelling even now, a whisper of theatre long past.