Parallel Representations of King Stanisław August at the Opening of the Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery on 6 September 1788
Joanna Szumańska
Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2532-2706
Abstract
The article discusses the inauguration of the Royal Theatre in the Old Orangery that took place on 6 September 1788 and was an impressive spectacle with a well thought out composition. The author analyses closely the opening of the king’s private theatre stage, which greatly added to the cultural life at the Royal Łazienki. The analysis includes parallel representations of Stanisław August that were part of the theatre hall’s decoration as well as the portrayals discernable in the comedies performed on that occasion: La Partie de chasse d’Henri Quatre by Charles Collé and George Dandin by Molière, and the performance of Rybaki (‘Fishermen’), a ballet choreographed by Daniel Kurtz.
The author argues that the painted plafond featuring the king as Apollo surrounded by four playwrights (Sophocles, Shakespeare, Racine, and Molière), the curtain decoration with “The Nine Muses on the Parnassus” and the comedies and ballet performed at the opening told a coherent story about Stanisław August. The analysis shows that the aesthetic message conveyed at the inauguration was identical with the political one, and the interplay of the king’s representations helped the monarch build his identity.
Keywords:
Stanislaus August Poniatowski, Stanislaw Augustus’ reign, The Old Orangery Theater, Stanisław II Augustus, royal iconographyReferences
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Authors
Joanna SzumańskaInstitute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2532-2706
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