Object details
Accession number
P33s54
Creators
Full title
Set Design for The Mastersingers of Nürnberg: Second Act in the Streets Before the Houses of Pogner and Sachs
Creation Date
early 20th century
Provenance
Gift from the American architect and scenographer Joseph Urban (1872-1933) to Isabella Stewart Gardner on 24 December 1914.
Marks
Inscribed (lower right corner): "JOS. URBAN. 13."
Inscribed (lower border): "THE. MASTERSINGERS. OF. NÜRNBERG. SECOND. ACT. IN. THE. STREETS. BEFORE. THE. HOUSES. OF. POGNER. AND. SACHS."
Inscribed (on back of frame): "Given to me by Urban Dec 24 1914." [in Isabella Stewart Gardner's hand]
Dimensions
23.5 x 33.66 cm (9 1/4 x 13 1/4 in.)
Display Media
Pen and ink, watercolor, and gouache on paper
Dimension Notes
Frame: 36.8 x 46.4 cm (14 1/2 x 18 1/4 in.)
Web Commentary
One of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s musical loves was the German composer Richard Wagner, best known for his monumental operas. The most visible token of Isabella’s love for Wagner in the Museum is this richly detailed set design for one of Wagner’s operas--"Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg." The colorful drawing was a gift from Isabella’s friend Joseph Urban, a renowned architect and set designer who designed over 50 productions for the Metropolitan Opera and served as the art director of the Boston Opera Company. Urban gave this drawing to Isabella for Christmas in 1914, presumably after she saw and loved the performance produced by the Boston Opera House earlier that year.
Permanent Gallery Location
Vatichino
Rights and reproductions
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