ABSTRACT
The sophisticated theatre of the Restoration concentrated on public or private interiors, and laid-out parks and gardens. If there were landscapes, as in the operatic Tempest, they were of the familiar baroque type of three-perspective cypress alleys and a rockbound sea shore. The type of baroque landscape in vogue with Italian scenographers was seen in Aaron Hill’s production of Handel’s Rinaldo in 1711. A prospect of steep mountains rose from the front of the stage to the full height of the most backward part of the theatre. A boost was given to landscape art in the theatre by the coming into use of act drops. These could resemble easel pictures, since they were painted on one plane. De Loutherbourg was fascinated by transitions of light, and experimented with them in his model theatre, the Eidophusikon. In the sale of De Loutherbourg’s effects there are listed forty-nine rural scenes, twenty-three rural and architectural scenes and thirty-six cloud and water scenes.
