Design for The Magic Flute: The Hall of Stars in the Palace of the Queen of the Night, Act 1, Scene 6 One of 32 lithographs after drawings by Schinkel for the decoration of the two royal theaters in Berlin. [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/380648] Schinkel, the most prominent and prolific German architect of the 19th century, also worked for Berlin’s major theatrical stages. His designs for a 1816 production of Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte remain his best known. Inspired by the Masonic themes incorporated in the opera’s libretto, most of Schinkel’s sets are in a resolutely Egyptian style. The print shown here evokes the land reigned over by the evil Queen of the Night. A selection of 32 designs was published several times from 1819 on; the Museum’s impressions appear to be from the first edition. Great care was taken in the publication of the plates, which were finished by hand. [https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/359883]