Genieve Figgis: Romeo and Juliet

December 8, 2016–January 21, 2017

Last season Genieve Figgis created a wondrous Gallery Met Short video on the occasion of the Met premiere of Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux. Now the brilliantly gifted Irish artist is back at the Met, and this time, her subject is Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, which opens in a new production on New Year’s Eve. Genieve Figgis: Romeo and Juliet features colorful canvases depicting the lovers in various states of embrace, as well as other characters and scenes from the opera. Shakespeare, of course, has served as both inspiration and intimidation to the countless subsequent artists who’ve interpreted his work. “It’s so scary,” Figgis says, “treading in the footsteps of the many artists in film and in painting who have done this before.”

Ascension
2016
Acrylic on panel
19.6” x 15.5”

Ghostly Embrace
2016
Acrylic on panel
19.6” x 15.5”

Juliet kissing her Romeo
2016
Acrylic on panel
4” x 6”

Kissing in the garden
2016
Acrylic on panel
19.6” x 15.5”

Romeo and Juliet on a horse
2016
Acrylic on canvas
47” x 39”

Grand Tier and Gallery Met