An inscription on the back of this sheet reveals that it was a design for Antonio Vivaldi’s La Cunegonda, an opera performed during carnival in Mantua in 1718, when Francesco Bibiena served as the impresario of the city’s Teatro Comico. As the final setting for the opera, the imposing ships, lit from behind, would have left a strong impression.
Francesco Galli Bibiena (1659–1739)
Stage Design with Sailing Vessels, ca. 1718
Pen and brown ink and wash, over graphite
Gift of Jules Fisher; inv. no. 2021.42