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Museum of Cinema-Tomàs Mallol Collection

Fixing the image of the world. Optical boxes and photography

Display "Fixing the image of the world: seeing the world through a hole".

Display "Fixing the image of the world: seeing the world through a hole".

The camera obscura: seeing the world through a pinhole

In the 17th and 18th centuries tools were invented that allowed people to capture images using a camera obscura. At the same time, optical boxers, also known as "Mondo Nuovo", allowed spectators to glimpse faraway cities and distant lands without moving, through so-called "optical views", seen from inside the box through a hole with a lens.

 

Photography: chemicals replace paint

From 1839, thanks to chemicals, images could be captured permanently using the camera obscura. This was photography, capable of accurately reproducing ephemeral events, capturing appearances and giving the human eye a new and more realistic perception of reality.

AUDIOGUIDE

08. The optical box

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OBJECTS

<p>Mondo Nuovo or Optical Box, <em>c.</em> 1825. Photo by J.M. Oliveras.&nbsp;Museum of Cinema-Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

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Mondo Nuovo or Optical Box
Mondo Nuovo or Optical Box
<p>Optical view <em>Vue du Palais du Duc d&rsquo;Aveiro &agrave; Lisbonne</em>, Daumont (editor), France, <em>c. </em>1780.&nbsp;Museum of Cinema - Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

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Optical view
Optical view
<p>Polyorama Panoptique, P. H. A. Lefort, France, after 1850.&nbsp;Museum of Cinema-Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

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Polyorama Panoptique
Polyorama Panoptique
<p>Box camera used to take daguerreotypes. L&oacute;pez and Gamara (<em>c.</em> 1840-1870). Museum of Cinema-Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

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Box Camera used to take Daguer
Box Camera used to take Daguerreotypes
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