Research Project

The Magic Lantern played a central role in visual culture from the 17th to the 20thc. This image projection instrument served as the basis for a new audio-visual show with a high educational, social, and artistic impact, being a precursor to the cinema. The magic lantern glass slides were the vital piece of the projection. Their images illustrated topics ranging from fairy tales to scientific, religious, frightening, supernatural, or even burlesque themes.

In Portugal, the oldest reference to the existence of magic lantern glass slides dates from 1766 and was intended for the princes' instruction. The use of projection lanterns was documented by the academies of science, as an instrument for teaching optics (Academia Politécnica do Porto, Universidade de Coimbra, Escola Politécnica de Lisboa e Escolas Médico-Cirúrgicas do Porto e Lisboa).

During the French revolutionary period, Etiènne Gaspard Robertson promoted the popularisation of the magic lantern in Paris and travelled throughout Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula. His exhibitions consolidated the magic lantern and phantasmagoria's role as a form of entertainment, creating moving images.

Among the music-theatrical genres in which magic lanterns were used, "mágica" was widely accepted on the Portuguese stages from 1840 to 1910, and this success has branched out to Brazil. These plays had a simple dramatic text, themes related to the wonderful and/or the supernatural, and a burlesque element. They also included visual and sound effects, such as phantasmagoria, dance, and music. Several effects and characters (satanic figures of comic nature) seem to mirror the popularised magic lantern glass slides' imagery. The magic lantern may also have been a link between the academic and the theatrical universe since, in an impoverished field as the Portuguese theatre, the reuse of materials was common in institutions with very different purposes.

Extensive slide collections are preserved in Portuguese libraries and museums. However, there is a knowledge gap in its production, use and better conservation strategies. Its uses and reuses in the entertainment context, particularly in theatres, still lack investigation.

The MAGICA project will be developed by a multidisciplinary team committed to promoting relevant approaches to the proposed investigation. Valences in areas such as conservation, musicology, theatre studies, and iconography are contemplated, aiming to combine competencies to understand better the role of the magic lantern in 19th-c. academic and cultural life. The team of consultants brings together renowned national and international specialists.

With MAGICA, we aim to answer the following questions:

Q1) How do the image repositories for magic lanterns relate to the country's cultural/theatrical/didactic life in 19th-c. Portugal?

Q2) What was the use, role, and significance of magic lanterns in the new theatre discourses involving light, music, text and scenic illusion of the 19thc. in Portugal?

Q3) To what extent do the magic lantern and phantasmagoria create new forms of theatre and musical-theatre?

Q4) How can one preserve the materiality and at the same time use the image repository of magic lantern glass slides?

Q5) How can we engage the general public with this fascinating part of our heritage (in an increasingly digital world where the performing arts are undergoing significant changes)?

These research questions will be addressed in seven interrelated tasks:

1 - Survey of historical documentary sources: the magic lanterns between academies and theatres in 19th-c. Portugal

In this task, a survey of historical documentary sources on "Mágica" will allow us to understand better the use of the magic lanterns in the Portuguese 19th-c. theatres and their relation with the academies of sciences. In this task, we will focus on the role of magic lanterns for entertainment and education. MAGICA will explore their incorporation and use in theatre presentations. The other contexts of use will be identified, aiming to evaluate the impact of the magic lantern in Portuguese society, comparing it with Spain and Brazil, two countries with no known local production of glass slides.

2 - Survey and material characterisation of selected magic lantern glass slides from the collections under study

In this task, we will undergo a survey and material characterisation of selected magic lantern glass slides from the collections of Portuguese Cinematheque, Museum of Natural History and Science of the University of Lisbon (MUHNAC-ULisboa), Science Museum of the University of Coimbra (UCoimbra) and Museum of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP Museum). These collections comprise ca. 1500 glass slides from the 18th to the 20th c., produced in Europe and the USA. MAGICA will study hand-painted magic lantern slides and hand-coloured with printed outlines, and the selection of representative glass slides will take into consideration subjects, makers, production techniques and dates, as well as the slide’s function.

Collection surveys of other museums will determine the diversity of makers and purposes associated with glass slides in Portugal. We will characterise the glass slides selected in terms of their chemical composition and production technique to: i) study the historical evolution of production techniques; ii) identify standard or differentiating techniques and materials used by the producers; iii) obtain information fundamental for the reproduction of painted glass plates according to the traditional methods for degradation studies and conservation tests.

3 - Iconography, Iconology and Semiotics of magic lantern slide imagery

This task will focus on the imagery of the painted glass slides selected. A joint approach (iconography, iconology and semiotics) will be used to fully understand the visual storytelling and the wide-ranging impact of MAGICA slides. It is necessary to follow the path of factual descriptions, interpretation of artistic motifs/visual codes and the constitution of the unique world of MAGICA symbolic values. Also, to understand the impact and dissemination of symbols related to the Magic Lantern in public and private 19th-c. society.

4 - Lexicum and visual analytics for the classification of the magic lantern glass slides

This task will investigate the use of an appropriate lexicum and visual analytics for the classification of the magic lantern glass slides. This task will involve Content Analysis and the Network Coincidence Analysis of the slides intended to provide guidelines to make magic lantern slides available as visual historical sources for research into Portuguese media culture and archaeology, as well as in a European context. This study will contribute with a controlled vocabulary and sets of visual, dynamic and interactive presentations to classify magic lantern slides, which will be included on Linternauta web application. The record of each slide, including description, the lexicum to be defined in Linternauta, material characterisation and conservation condition assessment will be added to web resource LUCERNA.

5 - The manufacture of magic lantern glass slides: historically accurate reconstructions

This task, which will proceed simultaneously with the material characterisation of Task 2, will investigate the production of historical artists’ materials. Reference samples for comparison with original paint samples will be produced using recipes contemporary with hand-painted glass slides and appropriate materials. Specific formulations for glass painting will be investigated, including colourants, binders, and varnishes.

MAGICA will particularly explore the production records available at the W&N 19th Century Archive Database, which proved its unique value in previous works. Glass with the same composition found in historical slides will be synthesised. The sheets will be produced according to the technology available during the period of interest. All reconstructions will be fully characterised by the multi-analytical approach abovementioned.

6 - Conservation strategies for the preservation of magic lantern glass slides

This task will concentrate on the conservation assessment of the painted glass slides selected. The following parameters will be evaluated: glass substrate corrosion, usually associated with the reaction of glass with atmospheric water; the adhesion of the paint layers to the substrate, paint cracking and losses due to the degradation of paint binders; paint colour alterations due to light exposure. Hand-painted glass slide reconstructions produced in Task 5 will be exposed to artificial ageing using variations in relative humidity, temperature and light levels to understand the development of pathologies previously identified in the historical glass slides. These reconstructions will also be used to test conservation procedures, particularly cleaning, consolidation and reintegration of the glass substrate and pictorial layers. A set of guidelines for conserving both the glass and paint layers will be made available to conservation professionals.

7 - MAGICA for audiences: workshops, exhibitions and performance

This task will assemble and share MAGICA's results at an international conference. Understanding the rationale behind specific aspects of production and uses of hand-painted glass slides will help us interpret past practices and provide insights into the recovery of lost technologies for contemporary artists' reuse. Tailored workshops directed to the community will be organised. An innovative exhibition to express the narrative surrounding magic lanterns and the different ways they were employed will be designed within the museum institutions. Several participatory experiences will be developed for the exhibition, allowing direct public contact with the objects and their history and stories.

MAGICA will result in:

- The valorisation of the Portuguese 19th-c. material and musical-theatre heritage with the rediscovery of forgotten pieces belonging to the partner institutions' collections.

- The renewal of the historiographic discourse on theatre with music in Portugal in the 19th century.

- A reflection on the processes leading to the study of this musical-theatre heritage and its fruition by contemporary audiences.

- Identification of production materials and techniques of magic lantern glass slides, specific to a time or place throughout their history of use.

- New information on their degradation mechanisms to develop preservation strategies and ensure access to future generations.

- The rediscovery of lost materials and techniques of use to conservators, historians, and contemporary artists.

- An opportunity to restore the magic lantern's image as one of the first and most exciting projection technologies and tell the story of their social impact due to their widespread use.

The knowledge produced will be shared with institutions, collectors, and the general public and be accessible for creative reuse, attracting new audiences. This project aims to develop and implement methodologies and tools that will significantly impact the valorisation and future safeguarding of hand-painted glass slides in collections worldwide.

MAGICA is actively committed to transferring knowledge and technology to the academic and public domains to ensure access and protection of the important heritage that are magic lanterns and their hand-painted glass slides, fundamental to the identity of our society.

While connecting the academy to the general community MAGICA will improve the preservation of cultural heritage, impacting the well-being of the communities and promoting cultural diversity through sustainable tourism and continued access to these fragile and precious objects from the past.

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