6771 - Gerst, Johann Karl Jacob

Gerst, Johann Karl Jacob View from a picturesque grotto of the sea with an archipelago of volcanic islands. Oil on paper. 28 x 36.7 cm. On the reverse, inscribed in pen, probably in the artist’s own hand: “Designed for the opera Alcidor by Gerst.” Circa 1825. Johann Karl Jacob Gerst, who worked as an assistant painter at the Royal Theaters beginning in 1815, was appointed to a permanent position as a royal set painter in Berlin in 1818 and, in addition to his own stage designs, also executed several designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. This work is a stage design by Gerst for Gaspare Spontini’s opera *Alcidor*. The magical opera with ballet premiered on May 23, 1825, at the Royal Opera House in Berlin; Schinkel also worked on the stage designs and, among other things, created the “rock cave” with a ruined temple for the first scene. Schinkel’s design, which is now housed in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin (Inv. No. SM Th.3 = SM B.19 (old)), depicts the stage set for the first act. Gerst, on the other hand, may have used this design to create the stage set for the third scene of the third act, where the scene transforms “into a desolate wasteland. Bare rocks, with passable paths, form a cave in the foreground and border a lake in the background. “The faint glow of the moon alone illuminates the area” (Gaspare Spontini [Com.]/ Karl Alexander Herklots et al. [Libretto]: Alcidor, a magical opera in 3 acts, with ballet, Berlin 1825, p. 62). - We ask that you request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not indicated in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.