Set design for Brecht's Galileo
June twenty
second, sixteen thirty three, A momentous day for you and me. Of all the days that was the one An age of reason could have begun. |
This is the poem that begins scene twelve of Brecht's play Galileo. It summarizes the action of the plays climatic scene and is the basis for my approach. My interest in this play comes from historical significance of the events it is based upon. It takes us to a time when emerging science clashed with the fate-based dictums of scripture. The set is based on a painting done in 1627 by Julius Shiller called Coelum Stellatum Christianum. The painting was an attempt to Christianize the pagan images depicted in earlier constellations. This painting is used as a celestial sphere; a sphere that encompasses the earth and gives form to the heavenly bodies. The world of the play exists within the confines of this sphere. With his telescope Galileo's eyes are opened to a different world. The telescope the vehicle that enables him to see the universe as it is; as we see it today. The set becomes a visual metaphor for a 17th century man's struggle to understand the heavens. As the play progresses more and more of the telescope's view is revealed. At the end of the play we see the celestial sphere of the church patched up. The world of the play comes full circle. The truth has been stifled |
Julius Shiller 1627 |