Museum and location search

Museum of Cinema-Tomàs Mallol Collection

The enchantment of a lamp. The Magic Lantern

Display "The enchantment of a lamp". Biunial magic lantern (c. 1880).

Display "The enchantment of a lamp". Biunial magic lantern (c. 1880).

Two hundred years before cinema was invented, the magic lantern projected images for the first time, whether to entertain, inform or as a teaching tool.

The magic lantern, which enjoyed great popularity especially during the 19th century, is the clear predecessor of cinema as a technical and a visual spectacle. It projects painted images on a glass plate, invented in the mid-17th century by Christian Huygens. Sometimes this glass plate is mechanised, which allows the projected images to be animated with a rudimentary movement.

The phantasmagoria show deserves special attention. The show was a magic lantern projection of great technical complexity carried out mainly in the late 18th century and the first third of the 19th century.

AUDIOGUIDE

04. The magic lantern

Listen to the audio guide of this museum

All audios available

VIDEO

OBJECTS

<p>Magic lantern for phantasmagoria shows <em>c.</em> 1850. Photo by J.M. Oliveras.&nbsp;Museum of Cinema - Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
Magic Lantern for Phantasmagor
Magic Lantern for Phantasmagoria Shows
<p>The glass plate of a magic lantern used for phantasmagoria shows &quot;T&ecirc;te de mostre &agrave; langue rouge&quot;, <em>c.</em>&nbsp;1800-1850. Photo by J.M. Oliveras.&nbsp;Museum of Cinema-Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
The Glass Plate of a Magic Lan
The Glass Plate of a Magic Lantern
<p>Double lens magic lantern, Butcher &amp; Sons Ltd. Biunial, Great Britain, <em>c.</em> 1880.&nbsp;Museum of Cinema-Tom&agrave;s Mallol Collection.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
Double lens magic lantern
Double lens magic lantern
scroll to top icon