L’éclairage au théâtre

Lighting in the theatre. The technical history of lighting in its relations to architecture remains to be written. But from an aesthetic point of view the evolution of lighting design in the theatre has already been studied, particularly from the time when electricity appeared, with its new possibilities of giving light an active role. In the present article, the author concentrates on two particularly significant moments in the theory and practice of theatrical lighting. The first is the publication of Patte’s Essai sur l’architecture théâtrale, in 1782, and the second the fitting out of Garnier’s opera house in Paris, from 1860. Faced with the problems caused by the use of candles and oil lamps, Patte recommended the use of reflecting mirrors. Their power to modify street lighting had already been demonstrated by Lavoisier. At the same time, the eighteenth-century study of Italian theatres (that of Palladio at Vicenza) and of classical models (Vitruvius), led to a feeling that something was wrong with the theatres of France. The choreographer Noverre, and Cochin, also put forward propositions which called into question the status of the proscenium and raised the problem of stage illusions. For Patte, the use of reflecting mirrors was a means of preserving the illusion by increasing the distance between the actors on stage and the audience, whilst at the same time reducing fire risks. In designing his opera house in Paris, Charles Gamier also tried to reform not only theatrical architecture but also theatrical lighting. Discussions were held on the idea of suppressing the footlights and the central chandelier. The latter was characteristic of the period’s habits of sociability : left alight, it allowed all the members of the audience to be seen. The debates of the time also turned around the comparative advantages of gas or electric lighting. Prior to the 1880s, electric lighting was not capable of variation, but its use at least allowed the chandelier to be raised. The author concludes by remarking that the history of lighting is linked to that of the social and scientific imagination.Thaon Bernard. L’éclairage au théâtre. In: Histoire de l'art, N°17-18, 1992. Architecture et arts du spectacle. pp. 31-43