Theatrical painting
The theater painting is the design of the stage set and aims for decorative painting mostly on the visualization of the spatial and temporal relationships on stage from. It has always been closely interwoven with other visual arts . Its purpose is the painterly connection of the elements of an opera , theater or ballet performance, which for the viewer merge sensually into a whole. Not only the production of large-format paintings on fabric (so-called stage brochures ) is the task of the theater painters , but also the painting of sculptures , props , wooden backdrops and much more.
Origin and history
Theatrical painting is probably as old as European theater itself, which appeared in ancient Greece in the 6th century BC. BC originated.
Pliny the Younger and Vitruvius reported paintings in the theaters and Roman arenas at this time .
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Fixed, painted stage decorations in the form of linen-covered frames behind an architecturally unchangeable stage front were used in the Renaissance , for example in the perspective picture stage of the Teatro Olimpico . With this type of stage, the high art of perspective representation of the Renaissance artists was used to fool the audience into the illusion of a spatial stage scenery. The stage passages between the front and back stages were provided with painted fabrics on wooden frames in order to complete the spatial effect of a perspective for the audience. Both in the Renaissance and in the Baroque era, ancient decorative elements were rediscovered, lavishly designed and functionally expanded.
The central perspective of painting, preferred since the Renaissance, found its way into the now unstoppable rapid development of stage decoration. As a result, Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446) is also mentioned as a pioneer of theater painting. Large-format paintings were created that were in no way inferior to contemporary oil paintings in terms of technique and perfection. The purpose of this central vanishing point perspective was the illusion of a vanishing point striving towards infinity, often used, for example, to impressively depict urban canyons and to exaggerate their effect.
At the beginning of the Baroque, Giovanni Battista Aleotti developed drivable free-travel backdrops in 1606 to make the stage decoration changeable. These rigid decorative elements were of course painted with scenic, landscape or architectural representations. Painted Telari were also used to transform the set - they were modeled on the ancient periacts . These three-sided, vertical prismatic components, placed side by side, could be perceived as a homogeneous surface from the front, which, by turning, enabled a quick, uncomplicated change of the stage design .
See also: history of the theater
Painted decoration parts
During the production of a stage set, numerous and often unorthodox materials have to be painted. The most obvious are so-called stage brochures , i.e. curtains made of linen, cotton nettle, tulle and plastic that can function as background brochures, alley hangers, curtains, circular horizons, etc. These stage brochures are attached to trains in the stage technology and can therefore be moved up to the Schnürboden on the stage and down into the viewer's field of vision.
However, not only these so-called "limp decorative parts" have to be painted, but also "rigid" ones such as: scenery, set pieces (e.g. a bush made of wood with a foldable stand on the back), sculptures made by the theater sculptors, props and countless others .
Painting techniques
Since the theater painter paints a multitude of curtains that are on the stage, his techniques are just as varied and special as the fabrics and other materials that he has to work on require.
For a long time - and still - there were and still are techniques that are unspokenly part of the professional secrets of theater painters and are difficult to learn; Back then it was often said "that had to be stolen with the eyes". Techniques that are generally known are also painting techniques used in free art, such as alla-prima painting (painted in one layer) and the glaze technique (multi-layer painting). The latter is very often used in theater painting; It is not for nothing that the theater painter paints his huge “canvases” stretched out on the floor.
The glaze technique implies diluted painting medium, whereby even the bottom layer of paint shines through until the very end through additional layers of paint.
Here, it is traditionally as follows: The design, which is to adorn the prospectus later than painting, first with coal - using carbon rod (a lump of coal on the long rod) while standing on the primed fabric background - mapped out. The charcoal sketch is then drawn in with a thinned color (often a sepia or brown tone ); however, not only the contours, but also extensive elaboration. Here you can already achieve a plasticity of the painting by glazing several times over areas that have to be darker. This process, which serves to concretise the preliminary drawing and to “hold it” on the painting surface , is called tintering . The color applications are then glazed over the tintering, the tintering can still be seen through. Finally, the lights and the darks are put on a little more opaque. In the course of large-format paintings, which can mainly be found in opera houses, it is advisable to fix the charcoal drawing with a heavily glued glaze using a spray gun. In this process technology, the grainy texture of the imprimitur, which is also retained in a subsequent glazed painting, is combined with a spray pattern, provided that a spray gun is used.
The theater painter is - besides his artistic ability - also an imitation painter, of marble, stone, wood, rust, patina, etc. For each imitation there are different techniques and tricks; "Wrap" over beer glaze to marble structure or "beat" Kolz grains. Here, however, the long-distance effect counts as with all theater paintings; because the next viewer who looks at the work on stage usually sits at least eight meters away.
Profession and activity
→ See main article: Stage painter
The profession of stage painting is still called theater painting in parlance. His training path has only been officially recognized in the former West Germany since February 2000. The learning of this profession takes place mainly as part of vocational training and usually takes three years. Today, the training is predominantly held in the dual system (i.e. school-based and company-based), and in individual cases only company-based. There are three well-known vocational schools in Germany: one in Berlin, one in Essen and one in Baden-Baden. Dresden is the only university in Germany that offers the theater painting degree . Both for the course and for most training companies, a portfolio with artistic works is a necessary requirement as an application. To date, there is no master craftsman qualification for the training path ; all stage painters are either unskilled, skilled journeymen or graduate students.
Theater painters are mostly employed at state and municipal theaters and opera houses, their place of work is the painting room. There are, however, an increasing number of independent decoration firms or studios; in which freelance stage painters, but also artists or decorative painters are employed. Stage painters are also employed in film productions to furnish the set with their paintings.
Collections
Larger collections of historical theater painting have been preserved in Germany in the Meiningen Theater Museum (decorations from Meiningen's touring times , 1874–1890) and in the Ravensburg Konzerthaus (decorations by the Stuttgart court theater painter Wilhelm Plappert , 1902–1910).
literature
- Josef Alterdinger: Handbook for theater painting and stage construction. With 30 original drawings . Wega-Verlag, Munich 1927.
- Bernd Böhm: Theater painting . Josef Altmann Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-00-018757-X .