Set Design
1951 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.
Messel’s first work on Broadway was Peter Glenville’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Broadhurst Theatre, New York, 1951. His costumes and sets were inspired by Italian Renaissance painting and were faithful to the conventions of an Elizabethan stage. The New York critics found the designs colourful and atmospheric, but the direction received mixed reviews. The production ran for forty-nine performances.
Fresco paintings in Orvieto Cathedral by the Italian Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli (1450-1523) and engravings of frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1497) in Pisa’s Camposanto inspired Messel’s atmospheric recreation of medieval Verona.
Messel’s first work on Broadway was Peter Glenville’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Broadhurst Theatre, New York, 1951. His costumes and sets were inspired by Italian Renaissance painting and were faithful to the conventions of an Elizabethan stage. The New York critics found the designs colourful and atmospheric, but the direction received mixed reviews. The production ran for forty-nine performances.
Fresco paintings in Orvieto Cathedral by the Italian Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli (1450-1523) and engravings of frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1497) in Pisa’s Camposanto inspired Messel’s atmospheric recreation of medieval Verona.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Charcoal and pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Set design by Oliver Messel for a square in Verona in Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, Broadhurst Theatre, New York, 1951. |
| Physical description | Set design by Oliver Messel for a production of Romeo and Juliet, 1951. A pencil and charcoal sketch of a medieval town square. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Design |
| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare (ca. 1594). Oliver Messel’s production first produced by Dwight Deere Wiman at the Broadhurst Theatre, New York on 10 March, 1951. It was directed by Peter Glenville and featured Olivia de Havilland as Juliet and Douglas Watson as Romeo. Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005. Historical significance: This was Messel's first work to be initiated on Broadway. |
| Production | Reason For Production: Commission |
| Summary | Great Britain’s leading theatre designer from the early 1930s to the mid 1950s, Oliver Messel (1904-1978) won international acclaim for his lavish, painterly and poetic designs informed by period styles. His work spans ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue. Messel’s traditional style of theatre design became unfashionable from the mid 1950s onwards, and he increasingly concentrated on painting, interior and textile design, including designing luxury homes in the Caribbean. Messel’s first work on Broadway was Peter Glenville’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the Broadhurst Theatre, New York, 1951. His costumes and sets were inspired by Italian Renaissance painting and were faithful to the conventions of an Elizabethan stage. The New York critics found the designs colourful and atmospheric, but the direction received mixed reviews. The production ran for forty-nine performances. Fresco paintings in Orvieto Cathedral by the Italian Renaissance artist Luca Signorelli (1450-1523) and engravings of frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1497) in Pisa’s Camposanto inspired Messel’s atmospheric recreation of medieval Verona. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel: an exhibition held at the Theatre Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, 22 June - 30 September 1983.
London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. 200p., ill
ISBN 0905209508) |
| Other number | ROT 2652 - TM Rotation Number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.347-2006 |
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| Record created | September 4, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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