7/13/2016

scenedesignandstagelighting:TheNineteenthCentury

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scenedesignandstagelighting
TheNineteenthCentury
The19thcent.broughtextensivechangesinlightingandscenedesign.Gaslightwasfirstintroduced(1817)in
England.Althoughitwasresponsibleformanytheaterfires,gaslighthad,by1849,theadvantageofbeingcentrally
controlled.SirHenryIrving,attheendofthecentury,wasfirsttodarkentheauditoriumcompletely.Healsowasfirst
toexperimentwiththecolorandintensityofgaslight.Thefirstspotlightwasthelimelight(1816)itwasfollowedby
thearclight(1846).Withtheinvention(1879)oftheincandescentbulb,lightbecametheprimaryscenepainter.
ThroughtheeffortsofAdolpheAppia,modernstagelightingwasborn.
In1840,MmeVestrissuccessfullyemployedtheboxset(threesolidwallsjoinedtogether)completewithaceiling.
Theconceptoftheinvisible"fourthwall"forcedtheactingareatobelocatedbehindtheprosceniumarch,thus
eliminatingtheneedforawideapronandglaringfootlights.Decorativepropswerestillpaintedontheflats,butas
thenaturalisticmovement(inthetheatersofAndrAntoine,OttoBrahm,J.T.Grein,andConstantinStanislavsky)
gainedimpetus,realisticandevenactualobjectswereused.Thistrendtowardrealismandhistoricalaccuracy
culminatedinthephotographicrealismofDavidBelasco,whoevenincorporatedsmellsintoseveralproductions.
Theinvention(1839)ofthephotographwasafurtherinfluencetowardrealisticsettings.

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Sectionsinthisarticle:
Introduction
AncientGreece
AncientRome
TheMiddleAges
TheRenaissancetotheSeventeenthCentury
TheEighteenthCentury
TheNineteenthCentury
TheTwentiethCentury
Bibliography
TheColumbiaElectronicEncyclopedia,6thed.Copyright2012,ColumbiaUniversityPress.Allrightsreserved.

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