In 1822
Louis Daguerre , a painter and stage decorator, along with painter
Charles Marie Bouton, invented "realistic illusion shows" or Dioramas. Together they opened The Diorama in Paris a venue to show their large scale panorama paintings, with special light effects.
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woodcut of The Diorama Paris, c. 1830 |
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With light, forced perspective and a couple cranks of moving mechanisms, Daguerre and Bouton turned paintings into moving scenes.
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Painting: Ruins in Fog, Charles Bouton c.1823 |
Here is a video recreation of the Daguerre and Bouton Diorama. Although, the video is in French (without subtitles)-it requires very
little translation, as it visually demonstrates the technique that
Daguerre and Bouton invented, which is clearly the precursor to modern cinema.