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

This is Eugène Cicéri's "Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris" made with graphite and gray wash on paper. Cicéri was a prominent stage designer during a time when Parisian opera was a cultural touchstone, reflecting and shaping societal values and aesthetics. Consider how the design evokes an idealized, perhaps even colonial, vision of nature. The archway of lush foliage could suggest a distant, exotic locale, appealing to the 19th-century European fascination with the 'Orient' and other cultures. The opera, then, becomes a stage not only for drama but for reinforcing societal views of the world beyond Europe. Think about how the audience, primarily the upper class, would have received this imagery. Did it offer an escape, a form of cultural exploration, or did it subtly reinforce a sense of European dominance and exoticism? This design, while seemingly a simple backdrop, invites us to reflect on the narratives and power structures embedded within artistic representations.