Chapter 3

Use the archive of drawings from the Menus Plaisirs du Roi created by the National Archive in Paris, and think about the questions in Exercises A and B.

The URL is:

http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/caran...

Find some images that reference Rome. How did you choose them? How do the sketches represent ancient stories, and depict ancient gods and heroes? What dreams of possibility did they immerse nobles in with stage sets, costumes, and props? How is history represented in these images? How do they link and distinguish past and present?

Look at the elements of stage engineering documented in the sketches. What are the special effects designed to do?