Director
Richard Thorpe
Studio
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Designer
Cedric Gibbons, Randall Duell
Art Direction
Randall Duell, Cedric Gibbons
Scenic Art Supervisor
Scenic Artist
Description
Damascus temple interior with pagan idol
Place
Damascus, 70 BC
Date
1955
Dimensions
22’-2” x 16’-0”
Medium
Dry color and gelatin binder on cotton muslin
Style
Interior Architecture
Credit
Gift of J.C. Backings Corporation
Photo Credit
ADG Archives, Melinda Sue Gordon
Unique for their high chromatic saturation, these backdrops shaped MGM’s settings for the biblical parable of the Prodigal’s Son reimagined as a large-scale cinematic spectacle. Painted to be filmed in Technicolor, these backdrops demonstrate the rich, intense capacity of using dry color pigments. Eventually, scenic paint formulations would change to acrylic-based paints, reducing the scenic artist’s range of darkness and color intensity.
