Pierre Luc Charles Cicéri

Description

Executed in watercolor over an extremely free graphite line, the present drawing is characteristic of Cicéri’s graphic technique. The artist created an oriental decor with elephants, entwined snakes, and a monument of Babylonian architecture. The movement, the ardor, and the expressiveness of the drawing, testify to the stylistic maturity of the work. This project is preparatory for the decoration of the opera the Martyrs. This opera was created in 1840 by Eugène Scribe with a musique by Gaetano Donizetti. The drawing is preparatory for the 3^rd part of the 4^th act. An other stage design preparatory for this act is today at the Bibliothèque Nationale de l’Opéra, Paris.