Description

5] A costume fit for A Temple of Art Irving was committed to establishing the Lyceum Theatre as a Temple of Art and theatre of beauty.[25] His anxiety for complete accuracy in every particular detail of his productions was such that he carried out painstaking research into the historical period and country in which they were set and [] would never accept anything that was not theatrically right as well as pictorially beautiful.[26] To achieve this harmony, he was prepared to invest vast sums in scenery, costume and special effects, and the Lyceum Company became renowned for their large-scale and spectacular productions.[27] The values promoted by the Aesthetic movement, specifically the emphasis placed on the beauty that results through harmony, and the inspiration which can be drawn from the past, fuelled a wider desire for theatre costumes which were archaeologically correct and artistically appropriate.[28] In his 1891 article, The Truth of Masks, Oscar Wilde, reflected upon the desire for archaeological accuracy in dress which, he claimed, has distinguished the great actors of our age.[29] Archaeology was not, Wilde explained, a pedantic method, but a method of artistic illusion in which costume is a means of displaying character without description, and of producing dramatic situations and dramatic effects.[30] His writing demonstrated a keen understanding of theatrical practice during this period and stressed the need for the same harmony between set and costume on the stage as one would demand in a room, or picture