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Charles-Antoine Cambon

January 01, 1970

Charles-Antoine Cambon (21 April 1802 – 22 October 1875) was a French scenographer, theatrical production designer, who acquired international renown in the Romantic Era.

Charles-Antoine Cambon
Undated photograph of Cambon by Bernier
Born(1802-04-21)21 April 1802
Paris, France
Died22 October 1875(1875-10-22) (aged 73)
Paris, France
EducationPierre-Luc-Charles Ciceri
Known forscenographer
StyleRomanticism
AwardsChevalier de la Légion d'honneur

Career edit

Little biographical information exists on Cambon's early years, other than that he would have been active as an aquarelle and sepia artist before studying with Pierre-Luc Charles Ciceri. At Ciceri's workshop Cambon made acquaintance with Humanité-René Philastre, who would become his first long-term associate.

 
Set design for Act V, Scene 2 of La reine de Chypre (1841)
 
Collaboration with Humanité René Philastre for Les Burgraves, Act II (première production, 1843)

As a stage design for a "Salon" at the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra testifies, Philastre and Cambon started collaborating in 1824 at the latest.[1] From that time until 1848, Philastre and Cambon accepted numerous joint commissions for theatrical interior decorations and stage designs. Thus, they decorated the interiors of venues in Angoulême, Antwerp, Beaune, Brest, Choiseul, Dijon, Douai, Ghent, Lille, Lyon, Paris and Rouen, often providing complete machineries as well. Philastre and Cambon also designed productions – or portions thereof, as was customary back then – for Paris (Académie Royale de Musique, Ambigu, Bouffes-Parisiens, Cirque Olympique, Comédie-Française, Délassements-Comiques, Folies-Dramatiques, Porte Saint-Martin), Antwerp (Théâtre Royal Français), Barcelona (Liceu) and Ghent (Grand Théâtre) that created the blueprint for grand opéra and romantic scenography in Europe. Notable stagings to which Philastre and Cambon contributed are the world premieres of Auber's Gustave III, ou Le bal masque (1833), Berlioz' Benvenuto Cellini (1838), Donizetti's La favorite (1840), Halévy's La juive (1835), and Hugo's Les Burgraves (1843).

Cambon separated from Philastre in 1848 as the latter emigrated to Spain. He found a new associate in an extremely talented student, Joseph Thierry, with whom Cambon would design epoch-making productions for the Châtelet, Opéra, Opéra-Comique, Théâtre-Historique, and Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris. Examples of Cambon and Thierry's joint oeuvre include the world premieres of Berlioz' Les Troyens à Carthage (1863), Gounod's Faust (1859) and La reine de Saba (1862), Meyerbeer's Le prophète (1849) and L'Africaine (1865), Verdi's Jérusalem (1847) and Don Carlos (1867), and Wagner's Tannhäuser (Parisian version, 1861).[2][3]

After Thierry's premature death, in 1866, Cambon continued to work in full independence for venues in Cairo (Khedivial Opera) and Paris (Odéon, Opéra and Vaudeville), decorating a.o. the world premieres of Delibes' Coppélia (1870) and of Thomas' Hamlet (1868), next to a large number of the Palais Garnier's first-generation productions (a.o. Don Giovanni, Faust, La favorite, Guillaume Tell, Hamlet, Les Huguenots, Jeanne d'Arc and La juive). Cambon was to co-design the premiere of Verdi's Aida (1871), but dropped out of the production due to unknown circumstances.

Cambon taught many pupils at his scenic studio at 3 rue Neuve-Samson (currently rue Léon-Jouhaux, Xme Arrondissement). Students of note are Antoine Lavastre and Eugène Louis Carpezat (his official successors), Chéret, Jean-Émile Daran, Célestin-François-Louis Gosse, Eugène Lacoste, Jules-Frédéric Le Goff, Francesc Soler Rovirosa, and Angelo II Quaglio.

Cambon was named Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur in 1869. He was a friend of Prosper Mérimée and Stendhal. Cambon's funeral service at Saint-Denis-du-Sacrement and subsequent burial at Montmartre Cemetery were reportedly attended by Camille du Locle, Émile Perrin and Édouard Thierry, as well as by the complete crew of the Opéra.

Style edit

 
La Esmeralda, Act III, Scene 1
 
La Esmeralda, Act III, Scene 2

Although Cambon, like most contemporary scenographers, created scenery of various types and styles during his long career, it was in architectural settings that he achieved true excellence. In keeping with the romantic need for couleur locale and couleur historique, Cambon aimed at the illusionistic rendering of architectural space, the character and atmosphere of which he enhanced through the use of dramatic points of view and clair-obscur. Cambon's designs and scale-models in Conté crayon, sepia or pastel furthermore reveal an exquisite draughtsmanship in its own right. Though lacking the rich palette of most contemporaries and successors, Cambon's interiors and exteriors are characterized by precise, delicate lines that belie a solid sense of architectural composition and knowledge of each play or opera's spatial needs.

Preserved works edit

On 17 May 1877, 2,000 designs by Cambon were sold by his widow at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. Two hundred of these were acquired by the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra, which would also preserve Cambon's maquettes for the Académie Royale de Musique from 1866 onwards. A number of scale-models predating 1866 have also been preserved. Other stage designs by Cambon are held at the Archives of the Comédie-Française.

Authentic, large-scale artifacts of Cambon's activity survive at

  • the Bourla Theatre of Antwerp (B): five levels of authentic stage machineries and foyer decorations designed and executed by Philastre and Cambon in 1834. Notwithstanding being protected, the machinery might still disappear in the near future due to the need of modernization by the venue's current user, Het Toneelhuis—it was listed by Europa Nostra among the 7 Most Endangered sites of 2014.
  • the Grand Théâtre of Ghent (B): interior decorations by Philastre and Cambon from 1841.
  • the Théâtre of Montbéliard (F): ceiling painted by Cambon and Thierry in 1857.
  • the Château des Princes in Chimay (B): interior decorations and act curtain designed by Cambon between 1860 and 1863. The curtain was altered in modern times into a backdrop with newly added flats to create a 'garden' set.

Bibliography edit

 
Chimay's Théâtre du Château has the only authentic scenery painted by Cambon: a backdrop from 1860–3.
  • Marie-Antoinette Allevy, La mise-en-scène en France dans la première moitié du dix-neuvième siècle (Paris: Droz, 1938).
  • Germain Bapst, Essai sur l’histoire du théâtre: la mise en scène, le décor, le costume, l'architecture, l'éclairage, l'hygiène (Paris: Hachette, 1893).
  • Peter Beudert, 'Stage Painters at the Paris Opéra in the Nineteenth Century', Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography 31/1–2 (2006), 63–72: 64–65.
  • Sylvie Chevalley, 'L'atelier Philastre et Cambon et la Comédie-Française', in Anatomy of an illusion: studies in nineteenth-century scene design (Amsterdam: Scheltema & Holkema, 1969), 13–18.
  • Pierre De Clercq, 'Humanité-René Philastre (1794–1848) en Charles-Antoine Cambon (1802–1875): decorateurs van theatergebouwen', in De Opera van Gent: het 'Grand Théâtre' van Roelandt, Philastre en Cambon. Architectuur-interieurs-restauratie, ed. Luc Demeester and Birgit Waeterloos (Tielt: Lannoo, 1993), 51–68.
  • Nicole Decugis and Suzanne Reymond, Le décor de théâtre en France du Moyen Age à 1925 (Paris: Compagnie française des arts graphiques, 1953).
  • Bruno Forment, 'Staging Verdi in the Provinces: The Aida Scenery of Albert Dubosq', in Staging Verdi and Wagner, ed. Naomi Matsumoto (Turnhout: Brepols, 2015), 263–286: 266.
  • Catherine Join-Diéterle, Les décors de scène de l’Opéra de Paris à l'époque romantique (Paris: Picard, 1988).
  • Catherine Join-Diéterle et al., L'envers du décor à la Comédie-Française et à l'Opéra de Paris au XIXe siècle (Montreuil: Gourcuff Gradenigo, 2012).
  • Eugène-Oscar Lami, ed., Dictionnaire encyclopédique et biographique de l’industrie et des arts industriels (Paris: Librairies des dictionnaires, 1881–91), II, 109.
  • Jerome Maeckelbergh, 'The "Bourla" in Antwerp: Machinery from 1834 on the Brink of Dismantling?', in Theatrical Heritage: Challenges and Opportunities, ed. Bruno Forment and Christel Stalpaert (Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2015), 149–164.
  • Princesse de Chimay, 'Le théâtre de Chimay', in Actes du colloque international « Théâtres de cour – théâtres privés » organisé les 18 et 19 octobre 1996 au musée national du château de Compiègne, ed. Jacques Kuhnmunch (Paris: Éditions du Mécène, 1998), 62–65.
  • Madeleine Manderyck, 'De bouwgeschiedenis van het Théâtre Royal Français', in De Bourla Schouwburg: een tempel voor de muzen, ed. Madeleine Manderyck and et al. (Tielt: Lannoo, 1993), 41–75.
  • M. V., 'Ch.-Antoine Cambon', Le monde illustré 19/968 (1875), 278.
  • Nicole Wild, Décors et costumes du XIXe siècle. Tome II: théâtres et décorateurs (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale de France-Département de la Musique, 1993), 286–291 et passim.
  • Nicole Wild, 'De decors van Philastre en Cambon', in De Opera van Gent, 68–75.5.

References edit

  1. ^ Cambon, Charles-Antoine (1802-1875) Dessinateur; Philastre, Humanité René (1794-18 ) Dessinateur (1 January 1824). "[Esquisse de décor non identifié / Charles Cambon et Humanité René Philastre]". Gallica. Retrieved 27 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ oxfordindex.oup.com, Benezit Dictionary of Artists
  3. ^ oxfordindex.oup.com, Grove Music Online

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles-Antoine Cambon.
  • Gallica offers hundreds designs and scale-models by Cambon preserved at the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra
  • offers designs by Cambon for the Comédie-Française

January 01, 1970
charles, antoine, cambon, april, 1802, october, 1875, french, scenographer, theatrical, production, designer, acquired, international, renown, romantic, undated, photograph, cambon, bernierborn, 1802, april, 1802paris, francedied22, october, 1875, 1875, aged, . Charles Antoine Cambon 21 April 1802 22 October 1875 was a French scenographer theatrical production designer who acquired international renown in the Romantic Era Charles Antoine CambonUndated photograph of Cambon by BernierBorn 1802 04 21 21 April 1802Paris FranceDied22 October 1875 1875 10 22 aged 73 Paris FranceEducationPierre Luc Charles CiceriKnown forscenographerStyleRomanticismAwardsChevalier de la Legion d honneur Contents 1 Career 2 Style 3 Preserved works 4 Bibliography 5 References 6 External linksCareer editLittle biographical information exists on Cambon s early years other than that he would have been active as an aquarelle and sepia artist before studying with Pierre Luc Charles Ciceri At Ciceri s workshop Cambon made acquaintance with Humanite Rene Philastre who would become his first long term associate nbsp Set design for Act V Scene 2 of La reine de Chypre 1841 nbsp Collaboration with Humanite Rene Philastre for Les Burgraves Act II premiere production 1843 As a stage design for a Salon at the Bibliotheque Musee de l Opera testifies Philastre and Cambon started collaborating in 1824 at the latest 1 From that time until 1848 Philastre and Cambon accepted numerous joint commissions for theatrical interior decorations and stage designs Thus they decorated the interiors of venues in Angouleme Antwerp Beaune Brest Choiseul Dijon Douai Ghent Lille Lyon Paris and Rouen often providing complete machineries as well Philastre and Cambon also designed productions or portions thereof as was customary back then for Paris Academie Royale de Musique Ambigu Bouffes Parisiens Cirque Olympique Comedie Francaise Delassements Comiques Folies Dramatiques Porte Saint Martin Antwerp Theatre Royal Francais Barcelona Liceu and Ghent Grand Theatre that created the blueprint for grand opera and romantic scenography in Europe Notable stagings to which Philastre and Cambon contributed are the world premieres of Auber s Gustave III ou Le bal masque 1833 Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini 1838 Donizetti s La favorite 1840 Halevy s La juive 1835 and Hugo s Les Burgraves 1843 Cambon separated from Philastre in 1848 as the latter emigrated to Spain He found a new associate in an extremely talented student Joseph Thierry with whom Cambon would design epoch making productions for the Chatelet Opera Opera Comique Theatre Historique and Theatre Lyrique in Paris Examples of Cambon and Thierry s joint oeuvre include the world premieres of Berlioz Les Troyens a Carthage 1863 Gounod s Faust 1859 and La reine de Saba 1862 Meyerbeer s Le prophete 1849 and L Africaine 1865 Verdi s Jerusalem 1847 and Don Carlos 1867 and Wagner s Tannhauser Parisian version 1861 2 3 After Thierry s premature death in 1866 Cambon continued to work in full independence for venues in Cairo Khedivial Opera and Paris Odeon Opera and Vaudeville decorating a o the world premieres of Delibes Coppelia 1870 and of Thomas Hamlet 1868 next to a large number of the Palais Garnier s first generation productions a o Don Giovanni Faust La favorite Guillaume Tell Hamlet Les Huguenots Jeanne d Arc and La juive Cambon was to co design the premiere of Verdi s Aida 1871 but dropped out of the production due to unknown circumstances Cambon taught many pupils at his scenic studio at 3 rue Neuve Samson currently rue Leon Jouhaux Xme Arrondissement Students of note are Antoine Lavastre and Eugene Louis Carpezat his official successors Cheret Jean Emile Daran Celestin Francois Louis Gosse Eugene Lacoste Jules Frederic Le Goff Francesc Soler Rovirosa and Angelo II Quaglio Cambon was named Chevalier de la Legion d honneur in 1869 He was a friend of Prosper Merimee and Stendhal Cambon s funeral service at Saint Denis du Sacrement and subsequent burial at Montmartre Cemetery were reportedly attended by Camille du Locle Emile Perrin and Edouard Thierry as well as by the complete crew of the Opera Style edit nbsp La Esmeralda Act III Scene 1 nbsp La Esmeralda Act III Scene 2 Although Cambon like most contemporary scenographers created scenery of various types and styles during his long career it was in architectural settings that he achieved true excellence In keeping with the romantic need for couleur locale and couleur historique Cambon aimed at the illusionistic rendering of architectural space the character and atmosphere of which he enhanced through the use of dramatic points of view and clair obscur Cambon s designs and scale models in Conte crayon sepia or pastel furthermore reveal an exquisite draughtsmanship in its own right Though lacking the rich palette of most contemporaries and successors Cambon s interiors and exteriors are characterized by precise delicate lines that belie a solid sense of architectural composition and knowledge of each play or opera s spatial needs Preserved works editOn 17 May 1877 2 000 designs by Cambon were sold by his widow at the Hotel Drouot in Paris Two hundred of these were acquired by the Bibliotheque Musee de l Opera which would also preserve Cambon s maquettes for the Academie Royale de Musique from 1866 onwards A number of scale models predating 1866 have also been preserved Other stage designs by Cambon are held at the Archives of the Comedie Francaise Authentic large scale artifacts of Cambon s activity survive at the Bourla Theatre of Antwerp B five levels of authentic stage machineries and foyer decorations designed and executed by Philastre and Cambon in 1834 Notwithstanding being protected the machinery might still disappear in the near future due to the need of modernization by the venue s current user Het Toneelhuis it was listed by Europa Nostra among the 7 Most Endangered sites of 2014 the Grand Theatre of Ghent B interior decorations by Philastre and Cambon from 1841 the Theatre of Montbeliard F ceiling painted by Cambon and Thierry in 1857 the Chateau des Princes in Chimay B interior decorations and act curtain designed by Cambon between 1860 and 1863 The curtain was altered in modern times into a backdrop with newly added flats to create a garden set Bibliography edit nbsp Chimay s Theatre du Chateau has the only authentic scenery painted by Cambon a backdrop from 1860 3 Marie Antoinette Allevy La mise en scene en France dans la premiere moitie du dix neuvieme siecle Paris Droz 1938 Germain Bapst Essai sur l histoire du theatre la mise en scene le decor le costume l architecture l eclairage l hygiene Paris Hachette 1893 Peter Beudert Stage Painters at the Paris Opera in the Nineteenth Century Music in Art International Journal for Music Iconography 31 1 2 2006 63 72 64 65 Sylvie Chevalley L atelier Philastre et Cambon et la Comedie Francaise in Anatomy of an illusion studies in nineteenth century scene design Amsterdam Scheltema amp Holkema 1969 13 18 Pierre De Clercq Humanite Rene Philastre 1794 1848 en Charles Antoine Cambon 1802 1875 decorateurs van theatergebouwen in De Opera van Gent het Grand Theatre van Roelandt Philastre en Cambon Architectuur interieurs restauratie ed Luc Demeester and Birgit Waeterloos Tielt Lannoo 1993 51 68 Nicole Decugis and Suzanne Reymond Le decor de theatre en France du Moyen Age a 1925 Paris Compagnie francaise des arts graphiques 1953 Bruno Forment Staging Verdi in the Provinces The Aida Scenery of Albert Dubosq in Staging Verdi and Wagner ed Naomi Matsumoto Turnhout Brepols 2015 263 286 266 Catherine Join Dieterle Les decors de scene de l Opera de Paris a l epoque romantique Paris Picard 1988 Catherine Join Dieterle et al L envers du decor a la Comedie Francaise et a l Opera de Paris au XIXe siecle Montreuil Gourcuff Gradenigo 2012 Eugene Oscar Lami ed Dictionnaire encyclopedique et biographique de l industrie et des arts industriels Paris Librairies des dictionnaires 1881 91 II 109 Jerome Maeckelbergh The Bourla in Antwerp Machinery from 1834 on the Brink of Dismantling in Theatrical Heritage Challenges and Opportunities ed Bruno Forment and Christel Stalpaert Leuven Leuven University Press 2015 149 164 Princesse de Chimay Le theatre de Chimay in Actes du colloque international Theatres de cour theatres prives organise les 18 et 19 octobre 1996 au musee national du chateau de Compiegne ed Jacques Kuhnmunch Paris Editions du Mecene 1998 62 65 Madeleine Manderyck De bouwgeschiedenis van het Theatre Royal Francais in De Bourla Schouwburg een tempel voor de muzen ed Madeleine Manderyck and et al Tielt Lannoo 1993 41 75 M V Ch Antoine Cambon Le monde illustre 19 968 1875 278 Nicole Wild Decors et costumes du XIXe siecle Tome II theatres et decorateurs Paris Bibliotheque nationale de France Departement de la Musique 1993 286 291 et passim Nicole Wild De decors van Philastre en Cambon in De Opera van Gent 68 75 5 References edit Cambon Charles Antoine 1802 1875 Dessinateur Philastre Humanite Rene 1794 18 Dessinateur 1 January 1824 Esquisse de decor non identifie Charles Cambon et Humanite Rene Philastre Gallica Retrieved 27 August 2016 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint numeric names authors list link oxfordindex oup com Benezit Dictionary of Artists oxfordindex oup com Grove Music OnlineExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Antoine Cambon Gallica offers hundreds designs and scale models by Cambon preserved at the Bibliotheque Musee de l Opera La Grange offers designs by Cambon for the Comedie Francaise Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Antoine Cambon amp oldid 1165318068, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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