The exhibition “Ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to begin. Georges Méliès and the cinema of 1900”, which «explains the birth of cinema and pays homage to the man who was considered its first illusionist», will be on display until the 20th of July on the Calçadão de Quarteira.
The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the ”la Caixa” Foundation and the Cinémathèque Française, the Municipality of Loulé and BPI.
The different exhibition spaces and resources «show what the world and leisure were like at that time, as well as some of the key aspects to understanding the importance of Georges Méliès. The exhibition includes several films by Méliès (which are complemented by a selection of films by the Lumière brothers), audiovisual pieces, copies of period photographs and reproductions of posters, drawings, a model of Méliès' studio in Montreuil and some objects from the period, like the fantastic folder by Robert-Houdin, or the cinematograph by the Lumière brothers», according to La Caixa Foundation.
The exhibition organizers produced «various audiovisual pieces that help to understand the world of Méliès and his influence».
«Three pieces stand out that reveal the opinion of well-known figures in contemporary cinema, such as directors Juan Antonio Bayona and Javier Ruiz Caldera, screenwriter and director Oriol Capel, set designer Ignasi Cristià, film critic Desirée de Fez , cinematographer Óscar Faura, actress Greta Fernández, producer Enrique López Lavigne, advertising spot maker Fernando Maing»uyague, make-up and special effects specialist David Martí and editing technician Jaume Martí.
In the view of the La Caixa Foundation, cinema, along with photography, «is the most characteristic art form of the XNUMXth century. Thus, in recent years, the “la Caixa” Foundation has dedicated retrospective exhibitions to great names in the world of cinema, such as Charles Chaplin, Federico Fellini and Georges Méliès».
This is how this «innovative exhibition project» was born, which consists of «a journey through time that transports visitors to the time when cinema became a popular spectacle, due, in large part, to the inventions and techniques developed by Georges Méliès» .
Son of a shoe entrepreneur, Méliès (1861-1938) was an illustrator, magician, artifact builder, director, actor, set designer and film technician, as well as a producer, director and distributor of more than 500 films between 1896 and 1912. in the world of the fantastic genre and cinematic trickery for almost twenty years, and his contribution to the seventh art was fundamental: he introduced dreams, magic and fiction to cinema when it was just taking its first steps and consisted solely of documentaries.
«As a genius of special effects, Méliès applied magic tricks, pyrotechnics, optical illusions, horizontal and vertical displacements, camera stops, chained transitions, superimposition of images, montage and color effects, and the magic lantern technique to cinema. , among others», according to La Caixa Foundation.
«Méliès enjoyed a good few years of glory, of extraordinary popularity, which culminated with the premiere, in 1902, of Le voyage dans la Lune (The Journey to the Moon), a film seen by millions of spectators. Unfortunately, the expansion of the film industry and the emergence of major production companies such as Pathé and Gaumont led Méliès to ruin and oblivion. In 1923, completely ruined, he destroyed the negatives of all his films and ended his professional life selling toys at the Parisian Montparnasse station. Journalist Léon Druhot recognized him at the station and it was then that his work began to be valued and recovered », concluded the exhibition organizers.
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