Design for The Magic Flute: The Hall of Stars in the Palace of the Queen of the Night, Act 1, Scene 6
Medium
Aquatint printed in color and hand colored
Dimensions
image: 9 x 13 3/4 in. (22.8 x 35 cm) plate: 11 3/16 x 15 3/4 in. (28.4 x 40 cm) sheet: 13 13/16 x 20 3/16 in. (35.1 x 51.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1954
Accession Number
54.602.1(14)
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
This enchanting aquatint print, between 1847 and 1849 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel alongside Karl Friedrich Thiele and Wilhelm Wittich, captures pivotal scene from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's beloved opera *The Magic Fl* (Die Zauberflöte). Titled *Design for The Magic Fl: The Hall of Stars the Palace of the Queen the Night, Act 1, Scene 6*, it depicts the ethereal throne room bathed in celestial light, where the dramatic Queen—symbol of night, moon, and stars—first appears to Tamino. The starry vaulted ceiling and luminous motifs evoke the opera's blend of Freemasonic allegory, Enlightenment ideals, and fairy-tale wonder, first performed in Vienna in 1791. Schinkel, a pioneering Prussian architect and stage designer, was renowned for his neoclassical yet fantastical theater sets, which influenced Romantic opera productions across Europe. Here, the medium of color aquatint—printed with etched tonal effects and enhanced by hand-coloring—brings a dreamlike glow to the architecture and cosmic elements, mimicking stage lighting's magic. Measuring about 9 x 13¾ inches, this print from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Elisha Whittelsey Collection offers a glimpse into 19th-century scenic innovation, bridging fine art and live performance for audiences enthralled by opera's spectacle.
About the Artist
Karl Friedrich Thiele|Karl Friedrich Schinkel|Ludwig Wilhelm Wittich (German|German) · 1780 |1781 –1836 |1841
German, 1780–1836|German, Neuruppin 1781–1841 Berlin