Architecture, Theater, and Fantasy

In the first half of the eighteenth century, members of three generations of the Bibiena family were the most highly sought theater designers in Europe. Their elaborate and masterful stage designs were used for operas, festivals, and courtly performances across Europe: from their native Italy to cites as far afield as Vienna, Prague, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, and Lisbon. Their distinctive style also became widely known through the collections of engravings published after their remarkable drawings. This publication accompanies an exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum that is the first in the United States in over fifty years to celebrate these talented draftsmen; the exhibition and its catalogue also mark the promised gift to the Morgan of a group of Bibiena drawings from the collection of Jules Fisher, the Tony-winning lighting designer. These drawings demonstrate the range of the Bibienas' output, from initial sketches to highly finished watercolors. With representations of imagined palace interiors and lavish illusionistic architecture, this group of drawings highlights the visual splendor of the Baroque stage--