Auguste Alfred Rubé (20 June 1817 – 13 April 1899) was a French painter noted especially for his theatre decorations.

Biography

Born in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

, Rubé was an innovator in the field of theatrical set design. This "decorator of rare ingenuity" focused on a local color search corresponding to the

Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. He had been at a good school with his master Pierre-Luc-Charles Ciceri, the designer of the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

, whose daughter he had just married. Ciceri had the confidence of

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

, who reported to him and his students, Rubé, Charles Séchan,

Jules Diéterle Jules Diéterle (8 February 1811 – 22 April 1889) was a 19th-century French architect, also a draftsman, painter, China painting, painter on porcelain, sculptor and theatre decorator. Biography Born in Paris, Diéterle, son of Jean Georg ...

, Édouard Desplechin, but Rubé wanted to do even better: not only did he try to reproduce the landscapes accurately, he made them picturesque. The setting of the 2nd act of ''Âme en peine'', by Friedrich von Flotow to a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, made for the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

, served him, in a way, as a premiere. The operas for which he then brushed the sets are masterpieces: in 1846, he created the set for the 2nd act of Donizetti's '' Betly''. His fame dates back to that moment: the 1st act of Auber's ''Zerline''; the 1st act of Halévy's ''Juif errant''; the 4th act of ''la Fronde'', by Louis Niedermeyer; the 1st act of Józef Michał Poniatowski's ''Pierre de Médicis''; the 3rd act of Gounod's '' The Queen of Sheba''; the 1st and 2nd acts of Meyerbeer's ''

L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1837 five-act French ''grand opéra'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da ...

''; the 1st act of Auguste Mermet's ''Roland à Roncesvaux''; the 4th act of Verdi's '' Don Carlos''; the 1st and 5th acts of Thomas's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''; the 4th act of Gounod's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

''; the 1st act of ''Coupe du roi de Thulé'', by ; the 3rd act of ''Joan of Arc'', by Mermet; the 3rd act of Delibes' ''

Sylvia (ballet) ''Sylvia'', originally ''Sylvia, ou La nymphe de Diane'', is a full-length classical ballet in two or three act (theatre), acts, first choreography, choreographed by Louis Mérante to music by Léo Delibes. The ballet's premiere took place on ...

''; the 1st and 5th acts of Massenet's '' The King of Lahore''; the 3rd act of Gounod's '' Polyeucte''; the 2nd scene and the 4th act of Verdi's '' Aida''; the 2nd act of Charles-Marie Widor's ''La Korrigane''; the 1st and 4th acts of Gounod's '' Le tribut de Zamora''; the 1st act of Delibes' ''Namouna''; the 1st act of Gounod's '' Sapho''; the 1st and 4th act of Reyer's ''

Sigurd Sigurd ( ) or Siegfried (Middle High German: ''Sîvrit'') is a legendary hero of Germanic heroic legend, who killed a dragon — known in Nordic tradition as Fafnir () — and who was later murdered. In the Nordic countries, he is referred t ...

''; the 1st act of Messager's ''Les Deux pigeons''; The 3rd act of ''Patrie'', by Émile Paladilhe; the 2nd and 5th acts of Gounod's '' Roméo et Juliette''; the 3rd scene of Saint-Saens's '' Ascanio''. He also created the set representing the Roman Forum in Louis Bouilhet's ''Faustine'' at the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin, the set of the

Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre () is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis in Paris, after the Père Lachaise Cemet ...

in Edmond de Goncourt's '' Germinie Lacerteux'' at the Théâtre de l'Odéon, the setting of the mysterious park in Joséphin Péladan's ''Sphynx'', at the Théâtre-Français, a night effect of the banks of the Seine near the

Institut de France The ; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the . It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute manages approximately ...

in ''Jean de Thommeray''''Jean de Thommeray''
on Gallica by

Émile Augier Guillaume Victor Émile Augier (; 17 September 182025 October 1889) was a French dramatist. He was the thirteenth member to occupy seat 1 of the on 31 March 1857. Biography Augier was born at Valence, Drôme, the grandson of Pigault Lebrun, an ...

and Jules Sandeau, in the same theatre. In 1858, he had painted a superb ceiling for the Théâtre-Français, depicting Apollo riding on Pegasus among the characters who inspired the masterpieces of the tragic and comic French actors, which, consumed by gas, was repainted in 1879 by Alexis-Joseph Mazerolle. The last composition he worked on was the curtain of the new Opéra-Comique. The one at the Opera was also his. By the time he died, at the age of eighty, Rubé had become the dean of painters and decorators. He had been made a chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, on 14 August 1869. To those who regretted that his painting skills were limited to decoration, he replied with a good smile: "What do you want, I have theatre in my blood"! Rubé died on 13 April 1899, in the

10th arrondissement of Paris The 10th arrondissement of Paris (''Xe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is referred to as ''le dixième'' (; "the tenth", formally ''l ...

Judgement

References

External links

Auguste Alfred Rubé
on The Morgan Library and Museum
Auguste Alfred Rubé
on The Morgan Library and Museum
''Le travail aux champs'', oil on canvas( 1876)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rubé, Auguste Alfred 1817 births 1899 deaths Painters from Paris 19th-century French painters Scenographers Knights of the Legion of Honour