1891
Paper on cardboard, water-colour, graphite pencil, whitewash.
57,5 х 70

The composition is a sketch of theatre curtain for the Russian Private Opera of S.I. Mamontov. Vrubel puts into life the theatre's trail-blazing concept: he "breaks through" the stage portal, destroys the symmetry of the stage. The curtain resemble at the same time a threadbare cobweb, glistening with precious shades, and a sail flying through space. Behind it is a nighttime Italian landscape with a view of the seaside. The stage scenery is formed by Nature's endless world. It is imagined by Vrubel as a magnificent amphitheatre, where the sky merges with the earth. Instead of theatre floodlights the illumination is provided by the moon. The stage is flanked by antique statues. The pedestal of a Roman poet's bust bears a Latin quotation: NEL VERO IL BELLO –Truth in beauty. The left side features a tall figure of the Muse Terpsichore, a harp in her hand. In the centre is an image of a minstrel of the age of Renaissance, surrounded by phantom incomplete figures of the viewers from different ages. This way the theatre space is used for marriage of nature and art across centuries.