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The sculptor’s dream: Tableaux vivants and living statues in the films of Méliès and Saturn

2015; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/17460654.2014.985692

1746-0662

Vito Adriaensens, Steven Jacobs,

Art History and Market Analysis

AbstractTableaux vivants, or living pictures, were an important part of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century popular entertainment. In this article, we carefully analyze the presence and function of living pictures and/or statues in two different generic contexts in early cinema to reveal the importance and continuity of nineteenth-century motifs and traditions with regard to tableaux vivants as they were presented on the legitimate stage, in magic, in vaudeville, and in burlesque. We will examine the trick film as embodied by the screen sorcery of Georges Méliès and investigate the early erotic screen gems presented by the Viennese Saturn film company.Keywords: sculptureliving statuesearly cinemaGeorges MélièsSaturn Film Company Notes1. Cf. von Goethe 1962, 207–208; Langen Citation1968, 194–258; Maierhofer Citation1999, 222–252; Brude-Firnau Citation1980; Peucker Citation1999, 195–213; Gram Holmström Citation1967, 110.2. Cf. von Goethe 2007; McCullough Citation1983; Gram Holmström Citation1967; Brandl-Risi Citation2013; Jooss Citation1999.3. These are: Le Magicien (1898); Guillaume Tell et le Clown (1898); La Tentation de Saint Antoine (1898); L’Illusionniste Fin de Siècle (1899); Le Diable Géant ou le Miracle de la Madone (1901); La Statue Animée (1903); L’Oracle de Delphes (1903); Tom Tight et Dum Dum (1903); Illusions Funambulesques (1903); Le Baquet de Mesmer (1904); La Chaise à Porteurs Enchantée (1905); Les Bulles de Savon Vivantes (1906); Le Tambourin Fantastique (1908); La Bonne Bergère et La Mauvaise Princesse (1908); Les Illusions Fantaisistes (1909); and Les Hallucinations de Baron de Munchausen (1911).4. Respectively: Le Magicien (1898); Guillaume Tell et le Clown (1898); L’Illusionniste Fin De Siècle (1899); La Statue Animée (1903); Tom Tight et Dum Dum (1903); Illusions Funambulesques (1903); Le Baquet de Mesmer (1904); La Chaise à Porteurs Enchantée (1905); Les Bulles de Savon Vivantes (1906); Le Tambourin Fantastique (1908); and Les Illusions Fantaisistes (1909).5. La Tentation de Saint Antoine (1898); Le Diable Géant ou le Miracle de la Madone (1901); L’Oracle de Delphes (1903); La Bonne Bergère et La Mauvaise Princesse (1908); and Les Hallucinations de Baron de Munchausen (1911).6. La Bonne Bergère et La Mauvaise Princesse (1908); and Les Hallucinations de Baron de Munchausen (1911).7. Though there is a somewhat narrative aspect to this film (as, one can argue, there is to most all films), its obvious stage setting and simple trick and gag set-up have made us categorize it as non-narrative with regard to Méliès’ living statue films.8. Mannequins were used in Guillaume Tell et le Clown (1898); L’Illusionniste Fin de Siècle (1899); Le Diable Géant ou le Miracle de la Madone (1901); Tom Tight et Dum Dum (1903); Illusions Funambulesques (1903); La Chaise à Porteurs Enchantée (1905); and Les Illusions Fantaisistes (1909).9. The jump is caused by Méliès’ substitution splice technique, which sees the mannequin substituted with a real person almost invisibly in between two strips of film that have been spliced together. In this instance, the jump is quite visible, as the mannequin’s beard and hair are not only longer when it comes to life, but its dress also changes slightly from actor to mannequin.10. Méliès’ choice to turn male sphinxes into rather scantily clad females is not surprising, but it is interesting to note that the Egyptian sphinxes were indeed mostly male, whereas the Greek sphinx was predominantly female.11. Munson starred in Inspiration (George Foster Platt, 1915); Purity (Rae Berger, 1916); Girl O’ Dreams (American Film Company, 1917); and Heedless Moths (Robert Z. Leonard, 1921).