Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-10-11
THEATRICA CAL SCENERY.
ON THE PAINT BRIDGE OF A LEAD
ING NEW YORK THEATRE.

ON THE PAINT BRIDGE OF a LEAD
ING NEW YORK THEATRE.
How Scenes Are Painted and what the
Painters Earn ~ Accomplished Artists
Who Devote Their Talents to the stare.
An Important Feature Of stagecraft.
Not long ago stood in the dimness and
shadows Of the interior Of one Of our big
theatres gazing far into the upper realms Of
space above the stage. The scenic painter
was at work, and the platform upon which
he stood and changed blank canvas into
speaking pictures swung and creaked above
the tops OF the scenery. How Ireached that
platform, after climbing up ladders and
walking along an apparently perilous way,
would almost frighten me, even now, to de-
scribe Finally, however, 4 reached the artist
and made known my errand.
Give you some points about scene paint
ingr' he repeated after me. Certainly
will, and gladly; be seated, and tell me where
to begin"
.At the beginning" answered, and with
brush in hand, he commenced:
GETTING THINGS 10 FIT.
Today when a manager has decided upon
play and its production, the first person to
whom he has recourse is the scenic artist. If
he Is wise in his generation he holds consulta-
tion with him long before any announcement
OF the play is made public, and together they
advise upon the character Of the play to be
presented, the location Of scene in which the
action is supposed to take place, the period in
which the events happen, the hour Of the day
or night at which they occur, and the time
and expense that will probably be required
to do justice to the undertaking.
Most scenic artists have fine pictorial
library, and from these pictures, in the col
lection Of which we often expend much time
and money, find landscapes, exteriors and
interiors that befit the play and period, and
submit them to the approval Of the manager.
When together we decide upon such as are
most suitable. / have a model of the scene
made to a scale, and color the miniature
model to an exact fac-simile that the large
scene will present when finished. The di-
mensions being given to the stage carpenter,
he purchases the lumber and other material
and constructs the scene to the size required,
and when completed places the scene in this
paint frame, which is, ycu see, a mechanical
contrivance constructed usually against the
rear or side wall Of the theatre, and suspend
ed by ropes leading to q windlass in the hy
gallery.
"see, here is the Ay gallery" J" he continued,
indicating wooden platform elevated con-
siderably above the stage on either side Of it,
land from this are,worked the sky borders
and the ceilings used in play" ! observed
that the paint frames, one of which was sus-
saav r1ar1N Npon l,elo ooQY,e No.
lowered, as the artist required to suit his con-
venience as his work advanced.
''This floor upon which we stand is plat
form which is termed a paint BRIDGE and it
is one of the most commodious have ever
needed to accommodate the paraphernalia
used in the execution of the work Standing
upon this we paint the scenes hanging in the
paint frames.
1.-THE canvas you see is a strong, heavy ma
terial called Russian linen, and before paint
ing is begun upon it my assistant carefully
and thoroughly vets it all over with a size
composed of whiting, glue, alum and water.
This process is called priming. When this is
done sketch In the outlines of my scene,
which may be either landscape, architectural
exterior or interior, and it is ready for the
colors to be applied p. 1
Isn't this called painting in distempera''
inquired 4.S.s sst
Yes, +" he replied. MANY people who are
not familiar with scene painting ask me IL it
isn't done in oil. Now, on tho contrary, not
drop of oil is used; in the first place, it
would increase the weight Of the scenes and
make them more difficult to handle, and,
moreover, greatly increase the danger in ease
of fire, against which in these days we take
every precaution in theatres. Now let me
show you my palette.
Istarted, but he did not open his mouth fur
ther than to utter the remark, and pointed
instead to a solidly built table, about five or
six feet long, mounted on castors, which al
lowed it to be moved to any part of the bridge
most convenient to his work. | noticed it
was fitted with compartments to contain the
necessary colors, and that the brushes lying
near were Of all sizes, flat and round, varying
from fine to- others Of seveAR inches width.
JUDGMENT AND SKILL
What kind of colors are these you user
asked, pointing to tho little mounds Of
ette table.
s'They are powdered colors Of the best
quality, and mixed with glue and water,n he
Y
hand, deftly applying it to the canvas in
front of us. He worked rapidly and surprised
me by the handsome and striking effects he
produced with few quick but well consid-
cred strokes. Experience, judgment and skill
were needed, / saw, in placing the colors
upon the canvas, as being applied wet they
looked several shades darker than they ap-
peared on the adjacent work, which had
dried. sss9 8
Turning again toward me he resumed the
conversation, saying: g 'Now,when i have fin
ished the painting Of this scene, it win be
lowered In the paint frame to the stage,
where the carpenter again takes it in hand,
fastens it together and sets it up to be in
spected and approved by the management. !"
Is the production Of elaborate scenery q
very modern ideag'
"Well, /, it's only within the last thirty years,
IF should think, that so much time and
thought have been spent upon the subject
3 Managers now appreciate the value of elabor-
ate scenery. It forms today most import
ant feature Of stagecraft, and It cannot be