A technical and contextual analysis of scenography through sculptural reproduction: Hofman and Tröster's Hamlets

Vlastislav Hofman's Hamlet at the National Theatre in 1926 and František Tröster's Hamlet at the Vinohrady Theatre in 1941 are undeniably different interpretations of one of Shakespeare's superlative plays. They are notable as works that illustrate a slight change in aesthetic for the designers, with Hofman moving away from his roots in Czech Cubism and Tröster showing his mastery of staging while letting the scenery take on an ethereal, minimal quality. My research has focused on recreating the sets to scale in a format that can be viewed in a gallery setting. This paper seeks to frame each example in its historical context, give an account of the transition from initial rendered ideas to what ended up on the stage, and document the process of constructing the models with a focus on permanence and attracting the interest of gallery-goers while staying true to the scenographer's work.