Opera-Ballet Diorama

Gérard Lo Monaco, born in 1948 in Buenos Aires, is an illustrator, creator of pop-up books, typographer, designer, and set designer. For La Poste’s “Ma collection” series, he designed this diorama-theater, inspired by the “tunnel” principle—an optical illusion that was all the rage in the late 19th century. This diorama-theater consists of four assembled scenes and showcases the expertise of La Poste Group’s stamp and security products printing facility, located in the Dordogne. Assembled by hand without a single drop of glue, it is manufactured and printed in four-color process on 260 g/m² Fedrigoni paper and includes four postage stamps specially reprinted in intaglio, engraved by Jacky Larrivière. This Opera-Ballet diorama is a paper structure that creates the illusion of depth. It serves as a precious showcase for the postage stamps issued in 1994, based on the work of Fernand Léger (1881–1955), celebrating Swedish ballets.

Conception et illustration du diorama : Gérard Lo Monaco © Lo Monaco Studio - France. Timbres mis en page par Charles Bridoux, gravés par Jacky Larrivière, d’après un dessin de Fernand Léger. © Musée de La Poste, Paris. La Poste 2026.