Year: 2019
Medium: gelatin silver print
Dimensions: 61 x 50.8 cm (24 x 20 in.)
Edition: No.8 of 25
Acquired from Gallery Koyanagi, 2022
In Sugimoto's Theatre series, especially those with shots of opera house, are called “Opera House”. As the title suggests, this work captures the “Palais Garnier” in Paris. Designed by Charles Garnier in the reign of Napoleon III, it is an opera house which still operates today and is one of the most important architecture landmarks in Paris. It is also known as the stage for the musical “The Phantom of the Opera”. In addition to the thrilling scene of the large falling chandelier in the musical, the theatre space is the largest in Europe, decorated in a gorgeous Neo-Baroque style. In 1965, ceiling paintings by Marc Chagall were added and until then, a reproduction of the work by Jules-Eugène Lenepveu which was decorated on the ceiling, can be seen at Musée d'Orsay. In this work, the interior of the theater, with the overwhelming resolution of the large-format film, is depicted with meticulous detail. The long-exposure photography, as the main feature of the “Theatre” series, captures only the dazzling light on the stage without any performers or equipment. It seems to visualize the accumulation of the long history of the theatre in an earnest way.
