Scenography in theatrical art
Scenography is the science and art of organizing the stage and theatrical space:
Stanislavsky sought to bring it as close as possible to real life situations.
Meyerhold - to the architectural embodiment of the idea of a non-portal stage, maximally extended into the auditorium.
Tairov worked on the plastic development of the stage floor, creating a plastic image, against genuine things and materials.
Every culture uses as material for its activities in the field of art all the past achievements of mankind, and also opens new material, on the basis of which a given culture asserts itself.
Material this is what is directly formed in a certain work of art / in painting this is the canvas, paints; in sculpture - wood, stone, etc./. In artistic creativity, material refers to a large area: material is stone, wood, paint, canvas; material is characters, characters, historical facts, etc. The material of art - heaviness, plasticity, light in a theater work is formed by scenography.
Scenography is:
The spatial solution of the performance, built according to the laws of visual aesthetic perception of reality.
Scenery, costumes, makeup, light - everything that the production designer sets, that is, the spatial definition of the environment.
The plastic capabilities of the cast, without which the spatial composition of a theatrical work is impossible.
This is what the director builds into a mise-en-scène picture. These are the technical capabilities of the stage and the architectural specification of the space.
To reveal its content, which is formed together with its specific form, scenography uses the fullness of the color of painting, the expressiveness of graphics, the plastic completeness of sculpture, and the geometric clarity of architecture.
Three types of patterns of material of spatial arts in scenography form three compositional structures of the performance:
The architectonics of the performance as a relationship of masses, where the composition of the performance is built on the basis of the pattern of distribution of masses, gravity, weight interactions in the spatial structure. In the performance this is expressed as: (a) Organization of a common theatrical space; (b) Organization of stage space; (c) An ensemble of actors in spatial relationships.
The plasticity of the performance built on the basis of the material “plastic”, plastic development, depth of the stage space, in its connection with the plastic performance of the actors. And it is expressed in the performance as: (a) Plasticity of forms; (b) The plasticity of the actor and the plasticity of the mise-en-scène; (c) Interaction of the actor's plasticity with the plasticity of the stage space.
Light in the play its light-color state, which takes into account the pattern of light distribution in the stage space, its influence on the color clarity of the objective world of the stage, and coloristic unity. This is expressed in the stage work as: (a) Stage lighting, taking into account the overall light intensity of the performance; (b) Color clarity of the performance; (c) Light-color interaction.
Three compositional systems of scenography form three architectonic levels:
distribution of masses in space.
identification of masses in their light-color relationships.
detailing the masses of space, in the dynamics of motion.
The scenographic design of the performance is in the context of dramatic dialogue and is constantly influenced by it. The spectator watches and listens to the performance at the same time, and these two moments of perception are in constant adjustment of each other, it is impossible to separate them: what he hears influences visual perception, the gaze is focused on certain stage details depending on what he heard, or vice versa, he saw and forces take a new approach to the spoken text.
Scenography- view artistic creativity, engaged in the design of the performance and the creation of its visual and plastic image, existing in stage time and space. In a performance, the art of scenography includes everything that surrounds the actor (scenery); everything he deals with - plays, acts (material attributes); everything that is on his figure (costume, makeup, mask, other elements of transformation of his appearance).
As expressive means scenography can use:
What is created by nature.
Items and textures of everyday life or production.
What is born as a result of the creative activity of the artist (from masks, costumes, material props to painting, graphics, stage space, light, dynamics).
Functions of scenography in a performance
Character - involves the inclusion of scenography in the stage action as an independently significant material, material, plastic, visual or some other (by means of embodiment) character - an equal partner of the performers, and often the main character.
Gaming function - expressed in the direct participation of scenography and its individual elements (costume, makeup, mask, material accessories) in transforming the actor’s appearance and in his performance.
Function location designations consists of organizing the environment in which the events of the play take place.
The origins of scenography are in pre-scenography (ritual and ceremonial action). The character function was predominant at the stage of pre-scenography. At the center of ritual ritual actions was an object that embodied the image of a deity or some higher power: various figures (including ancient sculptures), all kinds of idols, totems, stuffed animals (Maslenitsa, Carnival, etc.), different types images (including the same wall paintings in ancient caves), trees and other plants (up to the modern New Year tree), bonfires and other types of fire, as the embodiment of the image of the sun.
At the same time, pre-scenography carried out and two other functions , - organization of the scene and play area. The location of ritual actions and performances was of three types:
Generalized, locations- the most ancient, born of mythopoetic consciousness and carrying the semantic meaning of the universe (the square is the sign of the Earth, the circle is the Sun; different versions of the vertical model of the cosmos: the world tree, mountain, pillar, ladder; ritual ship, boat, boat; finally, the temple, as an architectural image of the universe).
Specific location This is the environment of a person’s life: natural, industrial, everyday: forest, clearing, hills, mountains, road, street, peasant yard, the house itself and its interior - the light room.
Pre-stage- was a hypostasis of the other two: any space could become a stage, separated from the audience and becoming a place for play.
Antiquity. From this time on, play scenography began as an independent type of artistic creativity, the first system for designing performances. The design of the performance consisted of flat painted shields “pinaks” inserted into the grooves of the proskenium.
Middle Ages. The simultaneous design principle is stationary scenery installed on the stage in a certain sequence, simultaneously showing different places of action: from heaven to hell. The transition of one performer from one set to another meant a change of scene. (At first, the interior of churches played the role of scenery).
Serlio's treatise “On the Stage” formulated 3 canonical types of perspective scenery for tragedy, comedy, and pastoral.
3 types of decoration: gazebo, ring, on pejents (two-story booths) - the upper one is for the performance, the lower one is for the actors changing clothes.
15-16th century – the birth of the box stage, the emergence of interchangeable scenery, the involvement of artists (Italy).
17th century Baroque. The action moves to the underwater and celestial spheres. (The idea of infinity and limitlessness of the world). Dynamic scenery and variability. Technically, the change of scenery was carried out using telarii (triangular rotating prisms), then backstage mechanisms and theater machines were invented.
Classicism. The scenery is again a backdrop for the actors - uniform and irreplaceable.
Romanticism first half of the 19th century, German artists. Dynamism of scenery. The object of the stage embodiment becomes nature, its states, and cataclysms. Landscapes, night with moon, mountain, sea.
Second half of the 19th century. the romantic setting evolves to the recreation of real historical locations.
Naturalism. The setting is modern reality, the real setting of the existence of the hero of the play on stage.
Late 19th – early 20th century. The leaders - Russian masters - Polenov, Vrubel, Benois, Roerich, Bakst and others enriched the theater with the highest visual entertainment.
Malevich's experience became a project facing the future. First half of the 20th century. world scenography developed under the influence of avant-garde artistic directions(expressionism, cubo-futurism, constructivism).
At the same time, decorative art also mastered the types of specific locations:
"environment"(the space is common for both actors and spectators, not separated by any ramp, sometimes completely real, like, for example, a factory floor).
lined up on stage a single installation depicting a “house-dwelling”"the heroes of the play with its different rooms, which were shown simultaneously (thus recalling the simultaneous decoration of square medieval mysteries).
decorative paintings that dynamically replaced each other by turning the stage circle or moving the van platforms.
Tairov's idea - main element design - the plasticity of the stage platform, which is “that flexible and obedient keyboard with the help of which an actor could most fully reveal his creative will.”
A new system has emerged - effective scenography, which took over the functions of both historically previous systems (game and decoration).
Among the great variety of experiments of the second half of the 20th century. Two most significant trends can be identified:
Development of a new content level by scenography, when created by the artist the images began to visibly embody in the performance the main themes and motives of the play: fundamental circumstances dramatic conflict forces opposing the hero, his inner spiritual world.
A tendency of the opposite nature, which manifested itself in the works of the masters of Western theater and took a leading position in the theater of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This direction is stage design. The main task of the artist here is to design the space for the stage action and provide material, material and light for every moment of this action. At the same time, in its initial state, space can often look completely neutral in relation to the play and the style of its author, and not contain any real signs of the time and place of the events taking place in it. All the realities of the stage action, its place and time appear before the viewer only during the performance, “as if out of nothing” its artistic image is born.
If we try to imagine the picture of modern world scenography in its entirety, we will find that it consists of an incomprehensible variety of the most heterogeneous individual artistic solutions. Each master works in his own way and creates very different designs for stage action - depending on the nature of the dramatic or piece of music and from his director’s reading, which is the methodological basis of the system of effective scenography.
Many performances have gone down in art history thanks to the most interesting decisions of the set designer. Often, theatrical sketches, decades later, remain unique documentary evidence of a particular production: after all, the scenery and costumes themselves are rarely preserved. In a number of cases, the drawings of the set designer are the only trace of the director's plan, whose project was never realized.
The style of Mikhail Larionov and Natalia Goncharova is associated with an interest in folk art forms. Deliberate deformation - an important plastic technique of neo-primitivism - is taken by Goncharova to the limit of expressiveness. “The task of a costume is not to dress, but to materialize an imaginary character, his type, character,” the artist asserted. Her sketches for the ballet "Bogatyrs", based on Russian folklore, are not just spectacular decorative costumes, but expressive images of Khansha, Ilya Muromets and other epic characters.
About Aristarkh Lentulov’s design of the opera “The Tales of Hoffmann,” Igor Ilyinsky wrote: “This performance is one of those few phenomena for which one can selflessly love the theater. That theater in which you receive impressions and aesthetic pleasure as a whole, as from symphonic music.”
Avant-garde masters are characterized by the use of not only plastic techniques transferred to the theater from painting, but also an innovative approach to scenography in general. In Georgy Yakulov's experiment - the play "Girofle-Girofle" - the basis of the scenography was a movable structure - a system of "kinetic machines". Yakulov believed that the main principle of theatrical performance was “the principle of constant movement, a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors.” In costumes, he laid down the idea of interpreting the role, believing that a precisely found costume frees the actor from the need to “hang around and run around the stage.”
Alexandra Exter, in the design of the play “Romeo and Juliet,” achieved a plastic synthesis of stylization and innovation. As Abram Efros put it, “she wanted it to be the most cubist cubism in the most baroque baroque.”
The standard of avant-garde theatrical experiment in Russia is the legendary performance "Victory over the Sun". Staged by artist Kazimir Malevich, poet Alexei Kruchenykh and musician Mikhail Matyushin, he combined latest achievements painting, music and poetry. The opera “Victory over the Sun” was staged again in 1920 in Vitebsk by Malevich’s student Vera Ermolaeva, whose plastic solution appealed to cubism and developed techniques from the first version of the play. In 1920-1921, Lazar Lissitzky developed a project for staging the opera “Victory over the Sun” as an electromechanical performance: the actors were replaced by huge puppets, which were supposed to move around the stage using an electromechanical installation. Part of the scenography was the process of controlling the puppets, as well as sound and light effects. The only evidence of Lissitzky's grandiose but unrealized innovative plan remained sketchbooks.
An example of fruitful collaboration between an artist and a director, equally oriented toward experimentation, is the joint work of Lyubov Popova and Vsevolod Meyerhold on the play “The Generous Cuckold.” This is a symbiosis of constructivist design aesthetics and innovative directing techniques. Popova embodied the utopian understanding of the role of theater as an “exemplary organization of life and people” in the installation - a universal setting for “The Generous Cuckold.”
Many of the Russian avant-garde artists saw the urgent task not in the design of specific performances, but in the universal decoration of the theatrical space based on the plastic techniques of the artistic movement to which they belonged. Thus, Malevich’s student Ivan Kudryashev used the principles of Suprematism in his design sketches for the Orenburg Theater. The desire for a total reform of the theater also determined the interest of avant-garde masters in the architectural design of the theater building itself. The projects of Alexey Babichev and Georgy Miller embody innovative principles of organizing theatrical space.
In parallel with the avant-garde searches in theatrical art of the 1920-1930s, there was also a traditional approach to scenography. This line is represented by masters who are not inclined to extreme innovation, and artists who began their creative activity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and remained true to their convictions. For example, Boris Kustodiev and Ivan Bilibin collaborated with theaters that maintained traditional production methods.
If we consider the specific embodiment of stenographic art on stage, then as an example we can cite the play “The Thunderstorm” based on the play by A.N. Ostrovsky on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater.
In the program, the explanatory text is entitled “In an Unsolved Space.” “Is it really that simple?” - asks the nameless author. And he answers himself with the same question: “Well, what about “do not kill, do not steal, do not covet your neighbor’s wife, honor your father and mother?” No, the point is not that today we want to give, in turn , clear and simple answers, but with the opposite sign, and the point is interest in passions, human thoughts in this mysterious territory of the most unsolved space of human existence - Russia."
The last words, in all their beauty and meaninglessness, are materialized on stage in Leventhal’s set: the footbridges of Kalinovskaya Street going nowhere, stairs at the corners of the stage and two fences, behind which clouds float or darken on both sides. These fences, however, move in and out during the course of the play, becoming either a courtyard, then a street again, or even a bathhouse (certainly with moonshine), where a showdown between Tikhon and Boris takes place, who is saved from certain death by Dikoy, Kuligin and, it seems, the inevitable Shapkin.
You can also cite as an example the premiere performance of the play “Killer Whale” based on the play by A. Tolstov on the stage of the Maly Theater. This comedy by Alexei Tolstoy was presented on the stage of the Maly Theater by director Vitaly Ivanov. Speaking about the scenography of the performance, we can note the following: if this is not an enterprise with its eternal beds and a couple of chairs, but any more or less serious theater, then it is ready to offer the public not just an elegant visual accompaniment of the action, but also a certain image of a specific performance. The artist Alexander Glazunov is an experienced and talented master. And in Maly, in general, any decoration is capable of earning individual applause. So it is in "Kasatka". As soon as the curtain opens in the second act, the hall explodes with applause from the indescribable beauty of the estate plein air. But the problem is that such an environment is appropriate in almost any performance, it does not have an inextricable connection with today’s interpretation of “Killer Whale”, there is no clearly expressed idea of a specific performance. As, however, this director’s idea itself is unlikely to be found here. For Maly, however, where the main character is an actor and not a director, this is forgivable, although again it does not fit into the modern theatrical context.
You can also note the scenography by theater designer Gottfried Pilz for York Höller's opera "The Master and Margarita" (based on the novel by M. Bulgakov). The opera premiered in Cologne in 1991. Pilz's scenography is symbolic in nature: he does not build scenery on stage that imitates the surrounding reality, be it a landscape or an interior, and does not dress the characters in costumes appropriate to the time and nationality, but creates a space that is modeled primarily by light and shadow. On a stage devoid of “qualities”, it is not characters without qualities who act, but extremely modern people.
You can also consider the scenography of S. Prokofiev’s ballet “Cinderella” (St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater, artistic director V. Gergiev, set designers I. Utkin, E. Monakhov)
It is logical to expect from the scenery for Prokofiev's ballet "Cinderella" a direct illustration of the plot - Charles Perrault's sweet fairy tale gives birth to fairy-tale palace interiors with a partly childish, lush and magical touch. But this only applies to the plot; as for Sergei Prokofiev’s music, it is not at all so serene and magical. In a production of Cinderella, the nature of the scenery may seem unexpected - sharp, structural, and sometimes even provocative.
This nature of scenography is due primarily to the fact that it was carried out by architects, and not by theater artists. The architects wanted to create exactly the space of “Cinderella”, and not just a decoration for a fairy tale. And therefore, before starting work, we subjected the music and plot to a thorough analysis. As a result of the search, which even included an attempt to write the libretto anew, the authors decided that the ballet takes place not in the Middle Ages or even in the Renaissance, but in the abstract 20th century “in general.” This solution, found or “heard” in Prokofiev’s music and supported by ballet director Alexei Ratmansky and lighting designer Gleb Felshtinsky, determined the unusual style of structures and fabrics on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The same move allowed the designer of the costumes, the architect Elena Markovskaya, to dress the heroes of “Cinderella” in certain clothes that somewhat vaguely indicate the entire period between the two world wars: either these are the “advanced” twenties, slightly flavored with court gloss, or “chic” ones. the thirties, but with increased bohemianism.
Decorators Ilya Utkin and Evgeny Monakhov are traditionally considered to be among the "papermen", participants and even leaders of the movement of the late 1970s - early 1980s, in which Russian design, "paper" architecture turned out to be able to speak its own language, fantastic, free and at the same time - smart and ironic. Inviting “paper money” architects to the theater, the management clearly hoped to receive “etchings of the entire stage” in the form of backdrops, that is, the same expected fabulousness, but with a tangible modern accent. Architects went further, trying to create their own world using few but powerful techniques. Since these techniques develop throughout the play, we will try to consider them in the sequence in which they appear.
First the curtain. By its nature, it is perhaps the most “papery” of everything that was done in “Cinderella”. The curtain depicts a dark night city with hundreds of luminous windows. The city is clearly large, tall, its buildings extend beyond the top edge of the fabric. The architecture is vague, but you can notice the arched shape of the windows and generalized pediments. Either New York or London of the Art Deco era. In one of the upper corners the window of Cinderella glows, who, it turns out, lives, like us, in a metropolis. Or she lived relatively recently - after all, if the action takes place in the interwar period, then the heroine belongs to the generation of our grandmothers. Such a gloomy beginning.
The curtain opens and the main stage appears, flanked by two large structures with tiers and ladders. The backdrop is neutral, and there is some kind of lattice hanging over the middle space. Someone is constantly climbing the structures, people are dancing in the middle of the stage, the backdrop changes color. No etchings, everything is rigid, structural, ironic. Postmodernism turns out, but not on the theme of the classics, but on the theme of Meyerhold and constructivism.
After some time, another structure appears on the stage: a large metal circle with knitting needles is suspended between two pillars. This is a clock towering above the stage and symbolically counting down time for the heroine. This simple circle on supports belongs to the same style as the tiered structures on the sides of the stage - a strong, "constructivist" (read - modernist) form that defines the space of the stage and almost draws the viewer's attention from the details of the action to itself. It should be noted that at first Utkin and Monakhov designed watches in much more intricate, fairy-tale and baroque forms - with curls and volutes. But in the final version, clarity and rigidity prevailed.
But about halfway through the performance, something completely new appears: a backdrop with a gigantic vaulted gallery that looks promisingly receding. This gallery suddenly enlarges the space, complicates the action and creates a dark and majestic backdrop for the ball scene. The classic here is dystopian, its taste is bitter and not at all fairytale. The gallery is either flanked by constructivist staircases or platforms, and then cleared of them. The clock changes position and turns into a chandelier, and the chandelier blinks alarmingly, then spins menacingly again in the form of a clock, speeding up time. Then the hall disappears, replaced by the foggy trees of the park, above which clouds float or the moon shines. Closer to the end
The clock also disappears, time almost stops, a happy ending is approaching, which is preceded by an intermediate translucent curtain.
There are quite a lot of scenographic moves in the performance, and they are provided various combinations a few techniques: a chandelier-clock, a hall-gallery, structures on the sides and backdrops. But this set is enough for constant variations that accompany the entire action, for changing plans and spaces, not so much applied and illustrative as plot and almost independent. And yet, the most memorable thing in the set design of “Cinderella” is precisely the endless gallery with harsh and even predatory classical forms.
This hall is a kind of key to the scenery of the performance. The architects do their best to create a modern fairy tale with lattice structures, menacing clocks that, like a werewolf, turn into something else, with flickering lights that change color. However, the action is “assembled” by one architectural, orderly, classically ordered space that leads the eye somewhere away from the stage. This path, this corridor with a clearing at the end, could shine and seduce the eye with elaborate Baroque or neo-Renaissance forms. Instead, he overwhelms the stage with his volumes, raised to an unusual, fabulous height. The heavy tread of the pylons somehow cancels both the inevitable happy ending and the sorrowful troubles at the beginning.
You can also note the production of the opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" Mariinsky Theater in scenography Belgian artist Thierry Bosquet. This set designer, who recreated the scenery and costumes based on sketches by Korovin and Golovin for the famous Mariinsky performance of 1904, did a hell of a job. He not only spent six months in the theater workshops drawing out details, but also personally traveled to stores in Europe and New York, choosing fabrics for all the costumes for “Ruslan.” The riot of colors presented by Thierry Bosquet drew thunderous applause at the premiere in 1994. The Belgian acted as an excellent stylist in this work: the scene breathes the pristine flavor of Russian Art Nouveau, reminiscent of both the Byzantine luxury of the chambers and the gloom of the epic oak forests.
As such, literature having direct relation There was very little specifically about the exhibition and its design; there was an incredible amount of information separately about scenography from the point of view of theatrical performances, and the same amount of information about museum objects, ordinary exhibitions and ongoing exhibitions.
To a certain extent, an exhibition is a kind of theater where some action takes place, and the actors in this theater are, accordingly, museum, or exhibition, objects.
In order to determine the relevance of the study of my topic course work First, I would like to know what scenography is. There are several interpretations, one of the common ones is scenography, a type of artistic creativity that deals with the design of a performance and the creation of its visual and plastic image that exists in stage time and space. In a performance, the art of scenography includes everything that surrounds the actor (scenery), everything he deals with - plays, acts (these are some material attributes) and everything that is on his figure (costume, makeup, mask, etc. elements of transformation of his appearance). At the same time, scenography can use as expressive means: first, what is created by nature, second, objects and textures of everyday life or production, and third, what is born as a result creative activity artist (from masks, costumes, physical props to painting, graphics, stage space, light, dynamics, etc.)
The origins of scenography are in the pre-scenography of the actions of the ritual-ceremonial pre-theater (both ancient, prehistoric, and folklore, preserved only in its residual forms to this day). Even then, the “genetic code” appeared in the pre-scenography, the subsequent implementation of which determined the main stages historical development the art of scenography from antiquity to the present day. In this peculiar " genetic code"contains all three main functions that scenography can perform in a performance: character, play, and designating the location of the action. Character - involves the inclusion of scenography in the stage action as an independently significant material, plastic, visual or some other (by means of embodiment) character - an equal partner of the performers, and often the main character. The acting function lies directly in the direct participation of scenography and its individual elements (costume, makeup, mask, material accessories) in the transformation of the actor’s appearance and in his performance. The function of designating the scene is to organize the environment in which all the events of the play take place.
The character function was predominant at the stage of pre-scenography. At the center of ritual ritual actions there was an object that embodied the image of a deity or some higher power: various figures (including ancient sculptures), all kinds of idols, totems, stuffed animals (Maslenitsa, Carnival, etc.), various types of images (including the same wall drawings in ancient caves), trees and other plants (up to the modern New Year tree), bonfires and other types of fire, as the embodiment of the image of the sun.
At the same time, pre-scenography performed two other functions: organizing the scene and playing a game. The location of ritual actions and performances was of three types. The first type is (generalized scene of action) - the most ancient, born of mythopoetic consciousness and carrying the semantic meaning of the universe (square - the sign of the Earth, circle - the Sun; different options for the vertical model of the cosmos: world tree, mountain, pillar, ladder; ritual ship , boat, boat; finally, a temple as an architectural image of the universe). The second type (specific place of action) is the environment surrounding a person’s life: natural, industrial, everyday: forest, clearing, hills, mountains, road, street, peasant yard, the house itself and its interior - the bright room. And the third type (pre-stage) was a hypostasis of the other two: any space, separated from the audience and becoming a place for play, could become a stage. An attractive image of the museum is being formed, its audience is expanding through the use of artistic and expressive information means, taking into account the objective needs of people in their free time combining knowledge with entertainment forces modern museums to use entertainment, play and other methods of organizing the behavior and activities of their visitors.
Over time, the nature of scenography changed slightly; it began to be used in absolutely different areas human life, there is no longer any activity left that would not be affected by it... In our progressive society, museums and exhibition complexes have to come up with new ways to attract people, because... in our age information technologies It’s easier to click on the link and now, you are already on the museum’s website and get acquainted with its history, with its exhibits... In general, the scenography serves, in some way, to attract people. The appropriate question would be “how does this happen in our time?” This is a question that most people would ask, and from this we can conclude that this topic needs further development. Modern museums are increasingly going beyond the usual excursion display and becoming initiators and conductors of original forms of socio-cultural activity.
Forms and methods of exhibition communication, like any other, should be clearly oriented towards the consumer, in this case, the museum visitor. And this is a specific person, with his own needs, level of knowledge, and life experience. At the same time, this work, especially with young people, is based on the principle of voluntariness and should take into account not only the most clearly expressed interests, but also stimulate the development of interests that are not sufficiently manifested: inclusion in cultural values and development of social activity. The requests and needs of visitors can be satisfied with the help of additional interpretive means, for example, using artistic and figurative organization of information.
Let us turn directly to books about antiquity and the Middle Ages. Let's analyze the game scenography, from books about ancient Greece, about ancient Rome etc., and we see that from this moment the theater itself begins, as an independent type of artistic creativity, and play scenography begins, as the historically first system for designing its performances. At the same time, in the most ancient forms of theatrical performances, especially in ancient and eastern ones (which remained closest to the ritualistic pre-theater), scenographic characters continued to occupy a significant position, on the one hand, and, on the other, generalized scenes of action, as images of the universe (for example, orchestra and proscenium in ancient Greek tragedy). The share of game scenography increased as historical movement theater from mythopoetic to secular. The peak of this movement was the Italian commedia dell'arte and Shakespearean theater born of the Renaissance. It was here that the system of performance design, based on the game-action-manipulation of actors with elements of scenography, reached its culmination, after which for several centuries (up to the 20th century inclusive) it was replaced by another design system - decorative art, the main function of which was the creation of an image places of action.
In the same way, from various kinds encyclopedias, one can analyze the decorative art of the Renaissance and modern times. For example, decorative art (whose elements existed earlier, for example, in the ancient theater and in the European medieval - simultaneous (which simultaneously showed different scenes of action: from heaven to hell, located on the stage in a straight line frontally, simultaneous decoration - (from the French. Simultane - simultaneous), a type of decoration for a performance in which all the decorations necessary for the course of the action were installed on the stage at the same time (in a straight line, frontally). symbol places of action (a house or gazebo - a temple, a palace; two trees - a forest, etc.) During the Renaissance, with the development of drama and stage technology, simultaneous scenery ceased to be used. (author's note)) decoration of square mysteries), as a special system for designing performances, was born in the Italian court theater of the late 15-16th centuries, in the form of the so-called. decorative perspectives that depicted (similar to the paintings of Renaissance painters) the world around a person: squares and cities ideal city or an ideal rural landscape. The author of one of the first such decorative perspectives was the great architect D. Bramante. The artists who created them were masters of a universal type (architects, painters, and sculptors at the same time) - B. Peruzzi, Bastiano de Sangallo, B. Lanci, and finally S. Serlio, who in his treatise On the Stage formulated three canonical types of perspective decoration (for tragedy, comedy and pastoral) and the main principle of their location in relation to the actors: the performers are in the foreground, the painted scenery is in the background, as a pictorial background. The perfect embodiment of this Italian decoration system was the architectural masterpiece of A. Palladio - the Olimpico Theater in Vincenzo (1580-1585). The subsequent centuries of the evolution of decorative art are closely connected, on the one hand, with the development of the main artistic styles of world culture, and on the other, with the intra-theater process of development and technical equipment of the stage space.
If we consider the scenography of our time, we can rely on the works of art critic Viktor Berezkin; in his works he examines effective scenography in modern times. The first half of the 20th century. world scenography developed under the strong influence of modern avant-garde artistic movements (expressionism, cubo-futurism, constructivism, etc.), which stimulated, on the one hand, the development of the latest forms of creating specific places of action and the revival (following Appia and Craig) of the most ancient, generalized, and on the other hand, the activation and even coming to the fore of other functions of scenography: gaming and character.
Decorative art also mastered the types of specific locations. This is, firstly, the “environment” (a common space for both actors and spectators, not separated by any ramp, sometimes completely real, such as the factory floor in gas masks by S. Eisenstein, or organized by the art of artists A. Roller - for productions by M. Reinhardt in the Berlin circus, London Olympic Hall, in a Salzburg church, etc., and by J. Stoffer and B. Knoblock - for performances by N. Okhlopkov in the Moscow Realistic Theater); in the second half of the 20th century. the design of the theatrical space as an “environment” became the main principle of the work of the architect E. Guravsky in the “poor theater” of E. Grotovsky, and then in a variety of options (including natural, natural, street, industrial - factory workshops, train stations and etc.) has become widely used in all countries. Secondly, there was a single installation built on the stage, depicting the “house-dwelling” of the play’s heroes with its different rooms, which were shown simultaneously (thus reminiscent of the simultaneous decoration of square medieval mysteries). Thirdly, the decorative paintings, on the contrary, dynamically replaced each other with the help of the rotation of the stage circle or the movement of the truck platforms. Finally, throughout almost the entire 20th century. the World of Art tradition of stylization and retrospectivism remained viable and very fruitful - re-creation on stage cultural environment past historical eras and artistic cultures - as specific and real habitats of the heroes of a particular play. (Senior World of Art students continued to work in this spirit - already outside Russia, and in Moscow and Leningrad - so different masters, like F. Fedorovsky, P. Williams, V. Khodasevich and others; from foreign artists this direction was followed by the British H. Stevenson, R. Whistler, J. Boyce, S. Messel, Motley, J. Piper; Poles V. Dashevsky, T. Roszkowska, J. Kosiński, O. Akser, K. Frych; Frenchmen K. Berard and Cassandre).
Among the great variety of experiments of the second half of the 20th century. (French researcher D. Bablé described this process as kaleidoscopic), held in theaters in different countries that used and newest discoveries the post-war wave of the plastic avant-garde, and all sorts of advances in engineering and technology (especially in the field of stage lighting and kinetics), two most significant trends can be identified. The first is characterized by the development of a new content level by scenography, when the images created by the artist began to visibly embody in the performance the main themes and motives of the play: the root circumstances of the dramatic conflict, the forces opposing the hero, his inner spiritual world, etc. In this new capacity, scenography became the most important and sometimes the defining character of the performance. This was the case in a number of performances by D. Borovsky, D. Leader, E. Kochergin, S. Barkhin, I. Blumbergs, A. Freibergs, G. Guniya and other artists of the Soviet theater of the late 1960s - the first half of the 1970s, when this trend has reached its culmination. And then a trend of the opposite nature came to the fore, which manifested itself in the works of masters primarily of Western theater and took a leading position in the theater of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The direction born of this trend (its most prominent representatives are J. Svoboda, V. Minks, A. Manthey, E. Vonder, J. Bari, R. Koltai) can be designated by the phrase stage design, taking into account that the same phrase in the English language Literature generally defines all types of performance design - decorative, playful, and character-based). The main task of the artist here is to design the space for the stage action and provide material, material and light for every moment of this action. At the same time, in its initial state, space can often look completely neutral in relation to the play and the style of its author, and not contain any real signs of the time and place of the events taking place in it. All the realities of the stage action, its place and time appear before the viewer only during the performance, when its artistic image is born, as if from “nothing.”
If we try to present the picture of modern world scenography in its entirety, then it contains not only these two trends - it consists of an incomprehensible variety of the most heterogeneous individual artistic solutions. Each master works in his own way and creates a very different design of stage action - depending on the nature of the dramatic or musical work and on its director's reading, which is the methodological basis of the system of effective scenography.
In the work "Scenography in theatrical art" - Shepovalova V.M. we can familiarize ourselves with the construction of the exhibition. Compositional levels of scenography. Three types of patterns of material of spatial arts in scenography form three compositional structures of the performance:
(1) The architectonics of the performance, as a relationship of masses, where the composition of the performance is built on the basis of the pattern of distribution of masses, gravity, weight interactions in the spatial structure. In the performance this is expressed as: (a) Organization of a common theatrical space; (b) Organization of stage space; (c) An ensemble of actors in spatial relationships.
(2) The plasticity of the performance, built on the basis of the material “plastic”, plastic development, depth of the stage space, in its connection with the plastic performance of the actors. And it is expressed in the performance as: (a) Plasticity of forms; (b) The plasticity of the actor and the plasticity of the mise-en-scène; (c) Interaction of the actor's plasticity with the plasticity of the stage space. (3) Light in the performance, its light-color state, which takes into account the pattern of light distribution in the stage space and its influence on color certainty objective world scenes, coloristic unity. This is expressed in the stage work as: (a) Stage lighting, taking into account the overall light intensity of the performance; (b) Color clarity of the performance; (c) Light-color interaction.
Interaction of compositional levels of scenography in a performance . Three compositional systems of scenography form three architectonic levels. The first is the distribution of masses in space. On its basis, a second compositional level is built, which takes into account the identification of masses in their light-color relationships. The third level involves plastically in-depth detailing of the masses of space, in the dynamics of movement. These compositional levels, which form every stage detail, including the actor, are in constant mutual adjustment of each other. In a theatrical work, three compositional levels organize every stage detail, forming the artistically significant space of a particular performance. Because of this, we can talk about the actor as a certain mass of the stage space, which is in interaction with other masses of this space, about the actor as a spot of color in the general coloring of the stage space, and about the actor as a dynamically developing plastic act acting in the plastically deepened space of the stage performance. Only the interaction of all three compositional levels in the dynamics of real movement, the central force of which is the actor, creates the scenographic integrity of a theatrical work, and ultimately, the integrity of the entire work of theatrical art.
Scenography as one of the defining moments of the performance . Scenography in the structure of a theatrical image determines its visual significance, which, together with other facets of the image, formed by the plot-dramatic line of development and sound-musical structure, form the artistic integrity of the figurative structure of a particular theatrical work, in its uniqueness and individuality. The scenographic design of the performance is in the context of dramatic dialogue and is constantly influenced by it. The spectator watches and listens to the performance at the same time, and these two moments of perception are in constant adjustment of each other, it is impossible to separate them: what he hears influences visual perception, the gaze is focused on certain stage details depending on what he heard, or vice versa, he saw and forces take a new approach to the spoken text.
From all of the above, we can highlight that scenography is, in some way, a spatial solution for the performance.
Even in theater studies, reviews and in theater practice, the term “scenography” has become widespread, which attempts to designate one of the key moments of a theatrical work - the spatial solution of the performance. At the same time, most authors of the most important studies prefer not to use this term; others deliberately limit the content by postulating one of its meanings. This position of the term “scenography” is the result of the lack of a unified theory of the visual significance of the theatrical image. M.G. Etkind writes about this: “Having long been isolated, established and, undoubtedly, having won the right to artistic autonomy, this type of creativity cannot boast - in comparison with its relatives in the family of arts - of any developed theory. It rarely attracts the attention of scientists; there are as many theories as there are artists.”
It is known that a term develops into a concept in all its richness of content only in theory, where, in the process of formation, each facet of this content enters the system, forming a number of auxiliary concepts. But it is also true that the theory begins with an analysis of the key terms of conceptual meaning, spontaneously put forward by practice, since it is in them that the entire structure of the future theory is intuitively foreseen.
Understanding the importance and significance of this initial stage in creating a theory of the spatial solution of a performance, we will try to analyze the main facets of the content of the term “scenography”, which has developed in the context of modern theater and the state of science about it.
Scenography as a synonym for decorative art. The term “decorative art”, literally meaning: “to decorate, decorate something”, is historically determined. Therefore, according to some researchers, it, without answering the essence contemporary art, only characterizes a certain period of development of stage “design”, based on “purely pictorial” techniques easel painting. Originating in the twenties, the term “material design of the performance” reflected the aesthetic position of a certain theatrical movement and could not claim any universality of application. That is why the term “scenography” has now become synonymous with “decorative art”.
The term “scenography” is far from new and was very often used in different eras. This is what G.K. wrote. Lukomsky: “Scenography is a picturesque decoration of the stage that appeared in Aeschylo-Sophocles times.” (This term by G.K. Lukomsky is supplemented by another - “architectography”, which refers to the architectural and planning capabilities of the theater). It is appropriate here to assume that the real term “scenography” is a transformed “scenography”, which at one time was understood as “scene painting”, i.e. the use of “picturesque perspectives” in stage design. We find confirmation of this in Vitruvius: “Scenography is a drawing of the facade and a picture of the appearance of the future building, made with proper respect for its proportions.” (Considering that the skene is the façade of the theater premises, in front of which there was a platform where the performance took place).
At first glance, the very structure of the word scenography suggests that it most fully reflects the specifics of the artist’s activity in the theater. But at the same time, if we understand “scenography” as stage graphics (which, in our opinion, is quite natural by analogy with the use of the word “graphics” in art), then the question arises: does it come down only to scenery and costumes?
The significance of stage graphics in the structure of the performance is broader, since what is depicted on stage is, first of all, the development of the mise-en-scene drawing of the actor's plasticity in a certain spatial environment. In addition, if the history of decorative art is created mainly by studying the sketch material of artists, then the history of stage graphics should focus on the entire spatial interpretation of the performance, on everything that forms the visual significance of the theatrical image.
Etkind M.G. On the range of spatio-temporal solutions in the art of theatrical scenery (analysis experience creative heritage Soviet theatrical scenery). - In the book: Rhythm, space and time in literature and art. L., 1974, p. 211.
The study of a theatrical work forces the researcher to take into account the spatial definition of the performance and therefore move away from the usual (but not entirely correct) fragmentation of the work according to the principle of professional employment in its creation.
Scenography as a stage in the development of the “artistic design” of a performance. In a number of research works, the term “scenography” is interpreted as a certain stage in the development of theatrical art. This idea is expressed in the most detailed form by V.I. Berezkin in the book “Joseph Svoboda Theatre”. In it, the author identifies a number of stages of evolution in historical genesis and the last stage - from the beginning of the century to the present day - relates to the development of scenography itself. “The isolation of scenography was expressed in the development of its own specific means of expression, its own material - stage space, time, light, movement.” And further the author writes: “Scenography established itself as an art, in the good sense of the word, functional, subordinate to the general laws of a complex synthetic work - a performance and designed for the closest interaction with the actor, dramatic text, music. Through this coordination of actions, the images of the performance are revealed.”
This position is due to the fact that theater of the 20th century requires not only the inclusion of scenery in the dynamics acting, but also the constant development of the entire structure of scenographic imagery throughout the theatrical performance. The scenery in a modern performance is not just “Shakespearean inscription translated into artistic expression", as, for example, A.A. believed. Bryantsev, she not only creates a scene of action or, moreover, a spatial environment, not only helps the actor find the state of his character (“enter into the role”), but is included in the stage dialogue with the actor and the viewer.
However, assigning only this meaning to the term “scenography” leads to unacceptable contradictions. The approval of new tasks and opportunities facing modern theatrical decorative art comes in this case through the denial of this scenographic imagery, for example, in a theater with a “decorative direction” to create spatial environment. In this case, in order to be consistent, one must either deny the visual significance of the theatrical image as a necessary moment of the artistic integrity of the performance, or deny any other theater as true, defined in the system of arts. Neither one nor the other is possible. After all, firstly, if there is a space where and through what the theatrical action unfolds, then it already influences the figurative structure of the work (even if the theater claims “anti-decoration”), and, secondly, the theater has always been special, different from others a form of art, which is confirmed by the very history of the theater (although in the scientific development of theatrical art even by Hegel V, it still appears as a performing art).
It’s another matter that the scenography of a certain era of theater development, on the one hand, had in the context of its culture only him characteristics(static and architectural forms in the ancient Greek theater, a three-part vertical division of the stage space or a clearly defined horizontal division in the medieval European theater, etc.); on the other hand, the scenography of a given culture constitutes a moment in the general line of development of theatrical art in general, and in this case we can talk about the solution of new, more complex tasks by each subsequent theater.
Scenography as a profession in the theater. No less popular is the term “scenographer,” derived from “scenography.” Through it, creative workers involved in organizing the stage space of the performance emphasize the specifics of their profession in the theater.
Previously it was believed (this opinion still exists) that any professional artist, be it an easel painter or a graphic artist, is capable of competently “designing” a performance. This is true if we reduce the artist’s tasks to the design of a meaningfully finished performance, that is, to an introduction to theatrical work, in its figurative structure of additional (which means somewhat external and optional) pictorial strokes, borrowed from such forms of art as painting. graphics, etc. However, theatre, especially modern theater, puts forward other demands, differently assesses the role of the theater artist in creating the artistic integrity of the performance, which in turn requires specialization and focus on the theater.
Theatrical and decorative art (often also called scenography) - type fine arts related to artistic design theatrical performance, that is, the creation on the theatrical stage of a living environment in which the heroes of a dramatic or musical-dramatic work act, as well as the appearance of these heroes themselves. The main elements of theatrical and decorative art - scenery, lighting, props and props, costumes and makeup of actors - constitute a single artistic whole, expressing the meaning and character of the stage action, subordinated to the concept of the performance. Theatrical and decorative art is closely related to the development of the theater. Stage performances without elements of artistic design are an exception.
The basis of the artistic design of the performance is the scenery depicting the place and time of the action. The specific form of scenery (composition, color scheme, etc. is determined not only by the content of the action, but also by its external conditions (more or less rapid changes in the scene of action, the peculiarities of perception of the scenery from the auditorium, its combination with certain lighting, etc.) .
The image embodied on stage is initially created by the artist in a sketch or model. The path from sketch to layout and stage design is associated with the search for the greatest expressiveness of the scenery and its artistic completeness. In the works of the best theater artists the sketch is important not only for the working plan of stage design, but also for an independent work of art.
A. M. Vasnetsov. Set design sketch for N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia.” 1906.
Theater scenery includes stage framing, a special curtain (or curtains), visual design of the stage space of the stage, wings, background, etc. The ways of depicting the living environment on stage are diverse. In the traditions of Russian realistic art, pictorial solutions predominate. In this case, written planar elements are usually combined with constructed ones (volumetric or semi-volumetric) into a holistic image, creating the illusion of a single spatial environment of action. But the basis of the decoration can also be figurative and expressive structures, projections, draperies, screens, etc., as well as a combination of various methods of representation. The development of stage technology and the expansion of methods of depiction do not, however, negate the importance of painting as the basis of theatrical and decorative art in general. Selecting the image method in each special case determined by the specific content, genre and style of the work embodied on stage.
The costumes of the characters, created by the artist in unity with the scenery, characterize the social, national, and individual characteristics of the characters in the play. They correspond in color to the decorations (“fit” into big picture), and in a ballet performance they also have a special “dance” specificity (they must be comfortable and light and emphasize dance movements).
With the help of lighting, not only a clear visibility (visibility, “readability”) of the scenery is achieved, but also depicts different times year and day, illusions of natural phenomena (snow, rain, etc.). Color lighting effects can create a feeling of a certain emotional atmosphere of stage action.
S. V. Obraztsov’s dolls from his pop numbers: “Tyapaya (“Lullaby” by M. P. Mussorgsky) and a doll’s head on a finger (“We sat with you...”).
Theatrical and decorative art changes with the development of artistic culture as a whole. It depends on the dominant artistic style, on the type of dramaturgy, on the state of fine art, as well as on the arrangement of theater premises and stages, on lighting techniques and many other specific historical conditions.
High level Theatrical and decorative art reached its development in Russia at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when they came to the theater outstanding artists. They brought great pictorial culture to the design of performances, sought the artistic integrity of stage action, the organic participation of fine art in it, the unity of scenery, lighting and costumes with drama and music. These were artists who first worked at the Mamontov Opera (V. M. Vasnetsov, V. D. Polenov, M. A. Vrubel, etc.), then at the Moscow Art Theater (V. A. Simov, etc.), at the Imperial musical theaters(K. A. Korovin, A. Ya. Golovin), Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons” (A. N. Benois, L. S. Bakst, N. K. Roerich, etc.). A powerful stimulus for the development of theatrical and decorative art was provided by the creative pursuits of advanced directing (K. S. Stanislavsky, V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, V. E. Meyerhold, choreographers M. M. Fokin and A. A. Gorsky).
E. Zmoiro. Model of the scenery for the performance of the Central children's theater“Skates” based on the play by S. V. Mikhalkov. 1976.
In Soviet theatrical and decorative art, the traditions of Russian theatrical and decorative classics were continued and developed. His innovation was due to new ideas, themes, images related to the development of drama and the theater of socialist realism. Outstanding masters Artists F. Fedorovsky, V. Dmitriev, P. Williams, N. Akimov, N. Shifrin, B. Volkov, Yu. Pimenov, V. Ryndin, S. Virsaladze, A. Vasiliev and many others became involved in this art. Together with all other types of artistic creativity, theatrical and decorative art (through its connection with theater and stage action) reflected the entire diversity of life in our country, the history of our society.
Artists also participate in the creation of films, television plays, variety and circus performances. Spectacular arts are perceived by millions of spectators, and therefore the role of the artist here is very important.
Material from Uncyclopedia
Scenography is the art of creating a visual image of a performance through scenery, costumes, lighting, and staging techniques (see Stage technique). All these visual arts are components theatrical performance, contribute to the disclosure of its content, give it a certain emotional sound. The development of scenography is closely related to the development of fine arts, architecture, drama, and cinema.
Decoration- stage design, recreating the setting of the performance, helping to reveal its ideological and artistic concept. In a modern theater, the scenery is prepared using a variety of artistic and technical means- painting, graphics, sculpture, light, projection and laser technology, cinema, etc. History of development scenography identifies several types of scenery related to the specific requirements of the theater, drama, aesthetics of a certain historical era, the level of its science and technology.
Picturesque scenery widely used in the 18th century. Beautiful and complex backdrops were painted, on which entire architectural ensembles or interior elements were often depicted, i.e., a picturesque background for the performance was created.
At the end of the XVIII - early XIX V. With the development of realistic theater, a departure from the purely decorative and entertainment tradition of design is planned. Instead of the traditional background depicting the scene of the action, they began to recreate in detail on the stage a certain situation that was required during the course of the action. Appears pavilion- a room closed on three sides, consisting of frame walls; its use increased the possibilities of using a variety of mise-en-scenes in the performance.
One of the common types of decorations, developed in the 17th-19th centuries, is rocker mobile a set consisting of scenes located at a certain distance one after the other from the portal deep into the stage. (A portal is the architectural frame of the stage, separating it from the auditorium.) The curtains were made of various materials (fabric or wood) and of various configurations - elements of landscape, architecture, etc.
Volumetric decoration is based on the use of volumetric parts in a system of flat walls. Ramps, practice tables, stairs and other volumetric elements allow you to diversify the layout of the stage space and change the depth and width of the stage box in accordance with specific requirements. An important role in the construction of three-dimensional scenery is played by stage machinery - a rotating circle, a system of rods, mechanically driven forks - devices for moving parts of the scenery on stage.
Simultaneous decoration is based on an open simultaneous showing of all locations of the play. This type of decoration was actively used in medieval theater and Renaissance theater. In our time, simultaneous scenery was often used in the theater in the 40-60s.
Spatial decoration is close to simultaneous in its method of organizing various scenes of action into a single installation, but it is not limited to the stage box, but includes the auditorium and the architecture of the theater building in its visual system. The scenes in this type of set can be dispersed at various points throughout the theater complex.
In modern theatrical art, a wide variety of types of scenery and performance design techniques are used.
One of the most important components of performance design is stage light. The light on the stage is the “wizard” who, completing the work of the artists and the production part, transforms the scenery: the painted canvas turns into velvet and brocade, plywood and cardboard into steel or granite, tin into crystal, glass into diamond, foil - in gold and silver. Lighting skillfully installed on the stage creates the impression of heat or cold, “sunny morning” or “ winter evening", "autumn darkness" or "clear bottomless sky". Stage lighting is also intended for creating stage effects. But the most important purpose of light on stage is to help create a certain atmosphere necessary during the course of the action. It can be neutral or, conversely, emotionally charged - festive, anxious, sad, carnival-dynamic.
The light on the stage is installed during special lighting rehearsals, when the design of the performance is completely ready and mounted. This is done by the lighting workshop, headed by a lighting designer, together with the performance designer and director. All lighting equipment can be divided into directed and diffused light devices. Colored lighting is achieved using colored glass or plastic filters. Lighting equipment is located both inside the stage box and outside it, in auditorium(the so-called remote). On stage, the equipment is mounted on portals and galleries. In addition, portable devices are installed in the wings on tripods. Above the stage, across its entire width, are suspended soffits, in which a whole set of various lighting fixtures is mounted. The soffits are hidden from the audience by canopies; they are raised and lowered using a grate system.
Lighting in a performance can be very complex, with many changes during the course of the action. This complex facility is controlled by a regulator, to which the wires from all lighting fixtures converge. An automatic regulator greatly simplifies the work of the lighting controller. This controller has several programs that are dialed in advance. Programs change during the performance by simply pressing a button.
Creating a lighting score for a performance is a very complex and labor-intensive task. Each new performance poses its own tasks for the artist and lighting technicians, and the search for accurate, expressive light requires imagination, experimentation, and a creative approach.
Theater costume helps the actor find appearance character, reveal his inner world, determine the historical, social and national characteristics of the environment in which the action takes place. A necessary addition to the costume is makeup and hairstyle.
The set designer embodies in costumes a huge world of images - acutely social, satirical, tragic, grotesque, etc. This is evidenced, in particular, by great work domestic artists in all types of theatrical art - ballet, opera house, drama theater.
Outstanding Russian artists V. D. Polenov, V. V. Vasnetsov, I. I. Levitan, K. A. Korovin, V. A. Serov, M. A. Vrubel, in staging operas by Russian composers, conveyed the originality of Russian history and pictures of nature , poetry of fairy-tale images.
The remarkable skill of the artists of the "World of Art" ( artistic association late XIX - early XX centuries) - A. N. Benois, L. S. Bakst, N. K. Roerich, I. Ya. Bilibin, M. V. Dobuzhinsky played an important role in staging opera and ballet performances, had a great influence influence on Western European theatrical art.
In the domestic theater in the 20-30s. scenographers strive to create synthetic performances, using spectacular motifs of harlequinade, tragedy, pantomime, circus, and propaganda theater. The scenography was intended to provide “the rhythmically and plastically necessary basis for the manifestation of acting art” and to convey “the rhythms of the creation of a new state.”
Such masters of design art as I. I. Nivinsky, V. A. and G. A. Stenberg, representatives of constructivism in fine arts- V. E. Tatlin, A. I. Rodchenko and others.
The works of famous theater artists - I. M. Rabinovich, V. V. Dmitriev, B. I. Volkov, P. V. Williams, V. F. Ryndin, S. B. Virsaladze and others combine the traditions of Russian theatrical and decorative art with innovative discoveries of modern scenography.
