ABSTRACT
In the past the scene-painters must have been a happier class of men; their lives were spent from week to week in a less anxious state than is now the case. The last generation of scene-painters were, from all we hear, a “jolly set,” and true Bohemians. When the scene-painter receives his commission from the manager, he receives with it some sort of particulars of what is wanted. Some managers can graphically illustrate their requirements; others, not possessing this happy faculty, give the key to the idea and requirements of the situation by word of mouth. The creation of the scene in the model is certainly one of the most interesting of the many processes that in the aggregate constitute the scene-painters’ art. The model completed, the scene painted, for a day or two the stage is given up entirely to the artist for the scene to be set and lighted.
