M
useo. The PRECINEMA Museum. The Minici Zotti Collection.
www.veneto.to
Appollon pasteur - Mort d'hyacinthe: Hand painted slide, circa 1790, 36.5 x 9.5cm From a set of 108 slides attributed to the collection of the Lorraine, Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
Hand-painted magic lantern slides from the mid-1800s. Bi-unial Magic Lantern, “J. H. Steward�, England circa 1880.
The PRECINEMA Museum celebrates its 10th birthday. The PRECINEMA Museum - Minici Zotti Collection, also known as the Museum of the Magic Lantern, opened its doors in 1998. The PRECINEMA Museum holds a number of records, being not merely the only one of its kind in Italy expressly dedicated to Precinema history, but also receiving a “Declaration of Local Interest” from the Veneto Region. Recently the Museum’s curator, Laura Minici Zotti, received the Seal of the City of Padua and above all the important international Jean Mitry Prize 2008 from the 27th Pordenone Silent Film Festival for its constant research and dissemination in the cultural field. The Museum is housed in the important Palazzo Angeli, an elegant historical building looking over the large ‘Prato della Valle’ square, founded and managed in collaboration with the Municipality of Padua. The city may also be referred to as the “capital of Precinema”, not only due to the presence of the Museum but also because other lanternists put on shows here during the 19th century. Furthermore the Paduan explorer Giovanni Battista Belzoni performed in England as a “lanternist” during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Museum is therefore also a homage to this eclectic figure.
1
1 “Padova - La Specola", hand painted magic lantern slide, England, circa 1850. 2 Triple Magic Lantern, “J. H. Steward Magic Lantern”, London circa 1880. 3 Palazzo Angeli, home to the PRECINEMA Museum.
2 3
The Museum displays exhibits including optical views, the “new world”, and a varied collection of optical instruments which, during the 19th century, but particularly during Victorian times, bore witness to the path that led to the birth of the CINEMA in 1895. Alongside simple toys, like the thaumatrope or the anamorphose we find more complex instruments including the phenakistoscope, praxinoscope and zoetrope, optical toys that created the illusion of movement.
4 5
4 Inside the PRECINEMA Museum. 5 “Chromatrope”, “moving” slide, hand painted, England, circa 1870. 6 “Pettibone" Magic Lantern, USA 1893.
A section of the museum is dedicated to PHOTOGRAPHY, where we may admire Carlo Ponti’s “privilegiato” Megaletoscope of 1864 (photo 11); in the same section we can discover the STEREOSCOPE, with antique portable (photo 7) or column-mounted (photo 14) devices showing photographic images that appear in 3-D. One particularly interesting image is an anaglyph panoramic view of the Prato della Valle, in 3-D. But the museum’s jewel in the crown are its
6
lanterns and, finally, Walter Gibbons’ “Cinematograph-Lantern”. The collection also includes toy painted tin lanterns with embossing by Lapierre, Plank or Müller, and the highly coloured French “Salon” lanterns. Alongside the projectors, the museum also includes exhibits of slides dating from the 18th to 20th centuries: most are hand-painted, etched on glass or actual hand-coloured photographs. Some are animated with different techniques, such as chromatropes (photo 5) or the famous strip choreutoscope. The Museum also boasts a large collection of 18th century slides, including 108
7 7 Stereoscope, "Holmes-Bates" model, USA circa 1880. 8 Inside the PRECINEMA Museum, Javanese Shadow Theatre. 9 Harmonium, J. Richard & C.te Etrépagny, France 1887; Player piano with music rolls, England 1887; Organette with punched cards, circa 1890. 10 “Sipario”, hand painted slide, England, circa 1870.
8 hand-painted landscape slides and relative Magic Lantern attributed to the collection of the Lorraine, Grand Dukes of Tuscany. Finally, the Museum includes a range of musical instruments (photo 9), a set of SILHOUETTES (photo 13), a JAVANESE SHADOW THEATRE (photo 8) and the reconstruction of Canaletto’s CAMERA OBSCURA (the original is on display at the Correr Museum in Venice) used to observe the view over Prato della Valle. The collection is completed with a MUTOSCOPE from the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company dating back to circa 1890, a viewer showing moving photographs.
9 MAGIC LANTERNS; various models document the fascinating journey of the painted and screen-projected image from the 1700s until the birth of the cinema. Among the most precious pieces on display, in addition to the single lanterns, J. H. Steward’s triple lantern in mahogany with brass lens piece that dates to circa 1880 (photo 2), W. Tyler’s double lantern, the scientific lantern by P. Harris & Co, the unusual USA-produced “The Pettibone” lantern (photo 6), antique bi-unial
10
11 At the end of the tour, visitors are shown a 20minute projection demonstrating and narrating the fascinating history of the Archaeology of the Cinema, with images taken from the Minici Zotti Collection. To satisfy the demands of schools and visitors, reproductions of some of the original exhibits can be used directly, offering a hands-on experience. The commitment to itinerant Magic Lantern performances and exhibitions around the world over the past few years has been great. Among them we may recall “SUBTLE CHARM OF STEREOSCOPY (1850-1950)”, dedicated to old-fashioned 3-dimensional photographic images, and “ABSOLUTELY BLACK Silhouettes and Shadow Theatre”. Laura Minici Zotti continues to put on Magic Lantern shows in Italy and abroad with a number of different programmes. Catalogues, CD-ROMs and a range of optical toys are available from
12 the Bookshop. The optical instruments behind the birth of the cinema have been ignored for too many years, and now the Museum preserves them and tells their fascinating story, to assure that they are not forgotten.
14 13
11 Megaletoscope “Privilegiato”, Carlo Ponti, Venice 1864. 12 “Dama a Carnevale", hand painted magic lantern slide, F. Weeks, England 1865. 13 “Silhouettes”, hand painted magic lantern slide. 14 Stereoscope, A. Claudet, France circa 1855.
MAGIC LANTERN PERFORMANCES Laura Minici Zotti – collector, curator of the Precinema Museum in Padua, but also skilled “lanternist” – has been spreading her knowledge of Magic Lanterns in performances in the most prestigious theatres around the world since 1975, using a biunial Magic Lantern made by J. H. Steward dating back to 1880, together with 19th century hand-painted slides, often animated by small, complex mechanisms. Her aim is to re-evoke the true atmosphere of Victorian entertainment. The exclusive prerogative of the shows put on by the “Italian lanternist” is to recreate the life and times of famous people of the past. The ideas, directing and scripts of her performances are the result of an unrivalled personal and scientific research project.
GOETHE’S ITALIAN JOURNEY Ending with some scenes taken from the works of Faust. An actor in the room impersonates Goethe as he writes and re-reads his impressions of his journey to Italy, while the Magic Lantern projects images of the cities described and the situations experienced by him. At that time, only a few fortunate people would have been able to afford the luxury of the Grand Tour by carriage, just as Goethe did, when he came to Italy in 1786 to study ancient art, to be seduced by the landscapes and customs of the country’s inhabitants.
ITALIAN VISIONS by C. DICKENS This Magic Lantern performance tells of Dickens’ journey to Italy in 1846, paying homage to his literary works. This antique projection was known also to Dickens in person, and both he and the public of the time were enchanted by the work. The show is accompanied by texts written by him, which evoke the emotions of past times.
IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME... (Programme from 1884 taken from a poster advertising the lanternist Charles Ellemberg) This repertory, much loved by the 19th century public, includes “fading distant landscapes” and “moving pictures” which show: astronomy, storms at sea, fires, snowfall, moonlit landscapes and, to finish, “kaleidoscopic and adamantine games”.
VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS
© Foto: Antonio Franciosi
The most beautiful magic lantern images showing Christmas in past times. The programme includes “moving” and fixed images that tell of Marley’s Ghost (C. Dickens), Le petite pouvre de Noël, La voix des clochers, Ben Hur.
With the participation of:
Comune di Padova
THE PRECINEMA MUSEUM The Minici Zotti Collection Prato della Valle, 1/A 35123 PADOVA Tel. 049 8763838 Fax: 049 8780280
TREVISO AIRPORT MOTORWAY EXITS
E-mail: info@minicizotti.it Sito: www.minicizotti.it
TOWNS
Curator: Laura Minici Zotti EUGANEAN HILLS VENEZIA AIRPORT
Opening hours:
M
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays Closed on: January 1st, Easter, April 25th, May 1st, August 1st to 15th, December 24th, 25th, 26th and 31st.
DIRECTION MILANO
DIRECTION TRIESTE
MOTO RWAY A4
A4 RWAY MOTO
VERONA AIRPORT
Entry fee: € 3.00; concessions € 2.00 (Padovacard holders); guided tours for schools and groups € 5.00 per person. MOTORWAY A13
Museum services: disabled access, bookshop, guided tours, video projection room.
DIRECTION BOLOGNA
Informazioni turistiche:
IAT Railway station Tel.049 8752077 IAT Piazza del Santo Tel. 049 8753087 (open March/October)
Provincia di Padova
Riviera dei Mugnai, 8 35137 Padova Tel. +39 049 8767911 Fax +39 049 650794 www.turismopadova.it www.turismotermeeuganee.it
Comune di Padova
© Foto: Archivio fotografico Museo del PRECINEMA
Regione del Veneto
October 2008
IAT Galleria Pedrocchi Tel. 049 8767927