The World in Perspective Views and Optical Recreations in the Age of Enlightenment

Exhibition organized by the Montpellier University Law Library in collaboration with the Château de Flaugergues

Date:September 20to October 31, 2014
Hours:
Location:Richter University Library

To mark European Heritage Days, the Montpellier Interuniversity Library, in partnership with Montpellier 1 University andthe Château de Flaugergues, organized a unique exhibition of optical views dating from^{the 18th century}. The project began with the rediscovery of 86 views in the collections ofthe University Library of Law, Economics, and Management, followed by their restoration and digitization. The Château de Flaugergues, which exhibits a similar collection and a machine for viewing these views, a "zograscope," is hosting the exhibition in the setting of an aristocratic Montpellier residence during European Heritage Days. Finally, on September 20 and 21, the association "Les machines du Fantasmagore" will hold fun activities based on the collections.

Optics, parlor entertainment...

The study of new optical phenomena makes the infinitely small accessible through the microscope and the infinitely large through the telescope. These instruments delight high society, which is passionate about science. Another device is making its appearance in aristocratic and bourgeois homes: the "optical device." This device, composed of a large lens, allows the viewer to observe hand-colored engravings with a strong perspective, known as optical views. Magnified by the magnifying glass, the subject of the engraving, often a landscape, gives the viewer an impression of depth.

… but also popular entertainment…

In the streets, fairs, and village squares, peddlers set up traveling shows based on viewing images through a lens. In the optical box, passersby marvel at the light effects that simulate the transition from day to night, fireworks, or fire.

… evocation of the journey…

In addition to original^18th-centuryengravings, the exhibition highlights the two worlds in which they were showcased: the aristocratic or bourgeois salon and the fair where the peddler set up his optical box. Through these old images, you will see the world as it was imagined during the Age of Enlightenment. While the fashion for the Grand Tour encouraged wealthy young people to embark on an educational journey across Europe, it was only the optician who allowed those of more modest means to afford an imaginary journey.

… and simulation of reality.

Finally, you will discover other fashionable optical amusements: the magic lantern, anamorphosis, the camera obscura, and even those that would triumph in^{the 19th century}, such as the stereoscope and the polyorama.

Watch both videos:

• Interview about optical views
• Exhibition of optical views at the Château de Flaugergues (Montpellier)

The association "Les machines du fantasmagore" (The Phantasmagorical Machines)

Invited to participate in European Heritage Days 2014, the association "Les machines du fantasmagore," which specializes in pre-cinema animation, collects original objects and reconstructs period machines to bring to life the simple and ingenious magic of optical effects from the Age of Enlightenment.

Around a fairground optical box, to the sound of the peddler's sales pitch, one could watch the sun set over Hagia Sophia and the lights come on over Rome's triumphal bridge.

Visitors also had the opportunity to immortalize their profile inthe photo-silhouette, a device inspired by Lavater's machine, which was used before photography to produce very accurate portraits.