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Phantasmagoria slides, as used and explained
in Assaulted
by the Devil and his companions
(part I
& II)
where mostly frightening
subjects or used in a suchlike way. There
are three main Phantasmagoria genres found
in most contemporary references, depicting:
The
underworld: Ghosts,
phantoms, devils, skeletons, skulls, grave-diggers,
witches,...etc. Very popular was the Bleeding
nun, a character created by Mattew
Lewis' in "the
Monk" 1796, his most famous
gothic horror novel and an inspiration
source for the Phantasmagoria.
Mythological
themes: Hébé (goddess of eternal youth),
Hero et Leandre, Achilles ... etc.
Portraits
of (un) known people. Often, these are
protagonists of the French Revolution:
Bonaparte, Marat, Robespierre, Danton,
Louis XVI... etc., and mentioned to conjure-up
the ghost of these departed ones.
Click
here to see and read about
military use of
the Phantasmagoria during the
tumultuous days of the French Revolution
Click
fantascope to see fantascope prints
The Fantascope is currently on display
at the
Cinémathèque
Française
in the permanent
exhibition 'Passion
Cinema'.
Soon
The
Fantascope &
accessories
in
Lanterne
Magique et Film Peint
a temporally exhibition
organized by the Cinémathèque
Française and
Museo
Nazionale Del Cinema.
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All these genres are made for projection by
hidden
phantasmagoria techniques
in an attempt to convince the onlooker of
the presence of a ghost. Frequently these
slides have animated features to make them
more spectacular. e.g. a skull with movable
wings, the head of medusa with animated eyes
and snakes. Often, these slides where
projected on a smoke curtain to create the
weird effect of a ghost floating above a
coffin. Mostly they where projected with the
aid of a Fantascope as see in the left
image.
Phantasmagoria slides
also refers to a special
painting technique especially
developed for ghost show
purposes / effects. This
type of slide shows the
subject in an
opaque
black surrounding
to eliminate unwanted
light, which destroys
the darkness necessary
for the Phantasmagoria
effect. A mint Phantasmagoria
slide conjures-up a ghost
in total darkness. The
first idea and use of
this effective but simple
technique probably came
from Etiénne-Gaspard Robert(son)
(1763-1837) |
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Phantasmagoria
slides are very
important in the
history of the
French
Revolution
due to their subject
& use. For
this reason, they
are important,
both for pre-cinema
collectors and
historical researchers
of the tumultuous
revolution.
The first image
on this page,
depicting a
Phantasmagoria
lightning effect
slide, belong
to
The
Cabinet of Physics,
part of the
Helsinki
University Museum.
I'm most thankfull
to the Cabinet
of Physics &
Mrs.
Jaana
Tegelberg
for allowing permission
for use of their
important phantasmagoria
collection on
VISUAL MEDIA.
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Sun Woman
©
The
Cabinet of Physics,
Helsinki |
All images used
from others will
be properly credited
and are copyright
protected property
of the owner.
Images withouth
credit are privat
collection and
copyright protected
too.
Several important
phantasmagoria
collection do
exist and I hope
to receive more
permissions for
use of their images
in the future;
The
Hauch's
Physiske Cabinet
in Denmark, The
Arts
et Métiers Museum
in Paris,
Museu del
Cinema
in Girona
Hopefully, this
page will also
help in discovering
hidden collections
hitherto unknown
or published in
recent times. |
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The grotesque and the macabre
Slides from the Underworld
/ MYTHOLOGICAL THEMES / PORTRAITS
Visit after this page
more Phantasmagoria
slides and
Engravings
from
the Hauch's physiske
cabinet in denmark, Sorø
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La
Nonne Sanglante (The bleeding
Nun) |
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Molteni
(Marionette)
Skeleton
(Compared with Helsinki
slide) |
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©Molteni
(Marionette)
Skeleton
(Compared with Helsinki
slide) |
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