The Magic Picture: Zémire et Azor

Description

Zémir et Azor was a four-act comic opera based on the story of Beauty and the Beast and set to music by the noted French operatic composer André Ernest Modeste Gréty (1741–1813). It was first performed at Fontainebleau in 1771, followed shortly thereafter by a performance in Paris at the Comédie Italienne. Touzé was a student at the Académie Royale in Paris and was known as a gifted imitator and mimic.
This drawing was included in the important collection of Jules and Edmond de Goncourt. The two brothers were instrumental in the revival of interest in and collecting of eighteenth century art during the middle of the nineteenth century. The catalogue devoted to the Goncourt collection describes the scene as follows: "In a theatre we see a Sultan in his harem; at right is an actor with the appearance of a man-beast; at left a woman is singing." Theater and musical performances were very popular in Paris, and this drawing captures the essence of performances during this period.
Exhibition label copy from "Eighteenth Century French Prints and Drawings," February 1 - May 4, 2003 by Curator Carole McNamara
"Zémir and Azor" was a four-act comic opera based on the story of Beauty and the Beast. The composer was André Ernest Modeste Grétry (1741-1813). This work was first performed at Fontainebleau, and then in Paris at the Comédie Italienne, in 1771.
This drawing was in the collection of Jules and Edmond de Goncourt. A catalogue describing this work in their collection contains the following: In a theatre we see a sultan is his harem; at right, there is an actor with the appearance of a man-beast; at left, a woman is singing.