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Stage set design for Madame Butterfly

A work made of gelatin silver print.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1931

Artist:

Lucia Moholy
English, born Bohemia (now Czech Republic), 1894–1989

About this artwork

Lucia Moholy began experimenting with photography with her husband, artist László Moholy-Nagy, in the early 1920s. When Moholy-Nagy was appointed in 1923 to the Bauhaus Weimar—a progressive school combining the fine and applied arts with modern technology and a combined emphasis on theoretical and vocational training—Lucia Moholy started working there as a freelance photographer, documenting staff and teachers, objects produced in the workshops, and the school’s Walter Gropius-designed buildings. In 1929, Moholy-Nagy was appointed the set designer at the Kroll Opera House, and produced several avant-garde sets employing translucent and perforated materials that would allow light to act as a sculptural element in the production. For Madame Butterfly, he constructed a Japanese house with sliding walls that could be transformed by light and movement. Lucia Moholy’s photograph of the scene emphasizes the diffusion of forms and blurring of space effected through his unconventional designs.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Lucia Moholy

Title

Stage set design for Madame Butterfly

Place

England (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1931

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image: 12.1 × 15.3 cm (4 13/16 × 6 1/16 in.); Paper: 12.5 × 15.7 cm (4 15/16 × 6 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Lucia Woods Lindley and Daniel A. Lindley, Jr.

Reference Number

1987.69

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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