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The Bibiena Family: The Doyens of European Theater Design

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The Bibiena Family: The Doyens of European Theater Design
"Circular Colonnaded Atrium," circa 1730, attributed to Giuseppe Galli Bibiena. Pen and brown ink, gray wash, blue and green watercolor, and white opaque watercolor; 15 7/8 inches by 24 5/8 inches. Promised gift of Jules Fisher, The Morgan Library & Museum. Janny Chiu/The Morgan Library & Museum
Lorraine Ferrier
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In 1716, poet Alexander Pope received a letter from writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, who had just seen a performance of “Angelica vincitrice di Alcina” in Vienna.
“Nothing of the kind was ever more magnificent; and I can easily believe what I am told, that the decorations [sets] and habits [costumes] cost the Emperor thirty thousand pounds sterling [over $4.1 million today],” she wrote, as quoted in the exhibition catalog for The Morgan Library & Museum’s “Architecture, Theater, and Fantasy: Bibiena Drawings From the Jules Fisher Collection.” 
Lorraine Ferrier
Lorraine Ferrier
Author
Lorraine Ferrier writes about fine arts and craftsmanship for The Epoch Times. She focuses on artists and artisans, primarily in North America and Europe, who imbue their works with beauty and traditional values. She's especially interested in giving a voice to the rare and lesser-known arts and crafts, in the hope that we can preserve our traditional art heritage. She lives and writes in a London suburb, in England.
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