Pierre-Luc-Charles Cicéri (17 August 1782 – 22 August 1868) was a leading French

set designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

of his era.Pierre-Luc-Charles Ciceri
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''.

Life and works

He was chief set designer for the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

from 1810 to 1847, and created the set designs for over 300 ballets and operas in his long career. In addition to his work at the Paris Opera, he designed for many of the leading theaters in Paris, including the Odéon,

Palais-Royal The Palais-Royal () is a former French royal palace located on Rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre Palace, Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Ca ...

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

Théâtre des Nouveautés The Théâtre des Nouveautés ("Theatre of the New") is a Parisian theatre built in 1921 and located at 24 boulevard Poissonnière (Paris, 9th arr.). The name was also used by several earlier Parisian theatre companies and their buildings, begin ...

and the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin. As Painter to the King of France, he supervised the decorations for the

coronation of Charles X The coronation of Charles X of France, Charles X took place on 29 May 1825 in Reims, where he was crowned King of France and Navarre. The ceremony was held at the Reims Cathedral, Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims in Reims, the traditional site for ...

in 1825. Cicéri designed the set for the first performance of '' La belle au bois dormant'' ("

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

"), which opened on 2 March 1825 at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. For ''La belle au bois dormant'' Ciceri created a quasi-cinematic motion effect onstage utilizing a treadmill for the actors in front of a moving

cyclorama A cyclorama is a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform, designed to give viewers standing in the middle of the cylinder a 360° view, and also a building designed to show a panoramic image. The intended effect is to make view ...

. He also designed the sets for a ballet version of '' Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil'' ("Jocko or the Monkey of Brazil") by Frédéric-Auguste Blache, with music by

Louis Alexandre Piccinni Louis Alexandre Piccinni (variously Louis Alexandre, Luigi Alessandro or Lodovice Alessandro) (10 September 1779 – 24 April 1850) was a prolific music composer born in Paris of Italian ancestry. Alexandre Piccinni was born in Paris. The gra ...

. The ballet was first performed at the Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin in Paris on 16 March 1825. He was awarded a Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. His son, Eugène Cicéri, also became a painter, illustrator and set designer.

References

External links

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More works by Ciceri
@ ArtNet 1782 births 1868 deaths French people of Italian descent People from Saint-Cloud French scenic designers Knights of the Legion of Honour 19th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French male artists {{France-artist-stub