Image of the Day

Adolphe Appia - Die Walkyrie

One of the most original Set Designers of the late 19th and early Twentieth Centuries was Adolphe Appia.  His use of geometric levels and arrangement of space placed an emphasis on the drama and performers unheard of in the contemporary theatre practice of the day, especially in the great traditions of staging Greek Tragedy and the Music Dramas of Richard Wagner.

I love the vagueness of the design above, how nothing is completely delineated, merely hinted at.  It's so simply effective, especially in his use of monochromatic tones.  His influence on directors like Fritz Lang can easily be recognised from images such as this.