Work-related research over the past couple of weeks has had me looking for pictures of theatres in the 19th century, especially backstage views. The latter proved harder to find than I expected although I did turn up a few useful reference images after scouring the picture libraries. Nuova raccolta di scene teatrali (1828) by Alessandro Sanquirico is an Italian book that surfaced during the searches, not something I wanted but it’s another collection of imaginary architectural views which I always like to see. Sanquirico was set designer for La Scala in Milan so most of these designs are for opera sets, although several are labelled “ballo“, a type of theatrical dance which evidently required dramatic settings. As to the designs, there’s more variety than you find among earlier generations of theatrical designers like the Bibienas, a family of artists who specialised in very detailed Baroque interiors. The Romantic era demanded tempestuous drama and greater spectacle, hence Sanquirico’s views of castles, caves, prisons, conflagrations and fanciful depictions of the ancient world. The selection that follows is only a small sample; the book has 242 plates in all.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Fantasie di architettura by Aldo Avati
• The other Carceri
• Fantaisies Architecturales by Henri Mayeux
• Temples for Future Religions by François Garas
Thanks for sharing these, John. There are a few that look like they were inspired by Piranesi’s carceri and other monumental imaginary architecture. Do you know if that was the case?
I’ve not see any direct mention of Piranesi but I think it’s fairly evident that Sanquirico was aware of Piranesi’s prints. His views of Roman ruins were very popular in the days before photography, and distributed all over Europe.