A D V E N T U R E S in C Y B E R S O U N DPhilippe Jacques de Loutherbourg : 1740 - 1812
Philippe Jaques de Loutherbourg also spelled Lutherbourg or Lauterbourg, also called Philipp Jakob II, or Jacques Philippe II (b. Oct. 31, 1740, Fulda, Abbacy of Fulda, d. March 11, 1812, Chiswick, Middlesex, England Born and trained in France, de Loutherbourg traveled to London in 1771 in search of commissions (and to escape marital difficulties!). So successful was he that he remained in England for the rest of his life, becoming an important figure in the evolution of British landscape painting. His first work was creating scenery for David Garrick's theatre in Drury Lane.
 Handbill announcing the Eidophusikon and other attractions, 1786 Altick, R. The Shows of London You may wish to download a larger version of this image
His innovative practices in scene-changing and lighting gained him an international reputation as a stage designer, and in 1781 he built his Eidophusikon, a moving panorama using three-dimensional sets, lighting, and sound effects to represent shipwrecks and natural wonders, such as Niagara Falls. De Loutherbourg returned to painting full-time, only to abandon it again in 1786 in favor of faith-healing, a calling he abruptly gave up when his house was ransacked by an angry mob. After 1790 he painted mainly religious, historical, and battle scenes.
 The Smugglers Return Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, 1801, oil on canvas, 29 1/2 x 42 inches Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiesenberger, 1960.299
"'The Smugglers Return' reflects de Loutherbourg's great sense of the theatrical. Here, in a raging storm, a number of men struggle against the surf to bring in their dismasted boat with its valuable cargo. Rather than being dwarfed by the power of the elements, the human beings are clearly depicted and their emotions easily identified: from the backs of the straining men in the water to the frantic family reunion on the shore. De Loutherbourg seems to view the smugglers sympathetically, and the "outlaw" was a favorite theme of Romantic artists. In this case, however, the lawbreakers were a common fact of eighteenth-century English life. Far from being the activity of a few men at night, smuggling was widespread and involved all strata of society, as is made clear in the lines from Rudyard Kipling's poem, 'A Smuggler's Song'"
Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg was born in 1740 at Strasbourg, the son of a miniature painter to the Court of Darmstadt. He became the pupil of Carle van Loo and learnt engraving from Jean-Georges Wille2. His success was considerable and he was nominated as ‘peintre de roi' in 1766. He came to London in 1771 with a letter of introduction to Garrick, who soon employed him as a scenery painter. De Loutherbourg first had an opportunity to display his talents with the pantomime The Pigmy Revels. De Loutherbourg abandoned stage design for illustration and genre painting at the end of 1781, for no one was prepared to pay him the high salary that he had demanded of Garrick. He was recognised as a history painter and elected to the Royal Academy. He died in 1812.
De Loutherbourg exhibited the [original] painting at the Royal Academy in 1774 and it has not been seen since.1 The mezzotint, which was dedicated to Garrick, was exhibited at the Society of Artists in 1778 and in 1779. Little is known about Charles Phillips, whose work can be extremely fine. It seems that he was active from about 1766-80 and engraved a number of plates for Boydell, particularly in his early years. This print may have been intended as a tribute, either to Garrick upon his retirement from the stage, or to Weston, who died at the end of December 1775. The print was published by the engraver and printseller Victor Marie Picot, who engraved at least five other plates after de Loutherbourg. Picot was born in Monthières and is said to have been brought over to England by William Wynne Ryland in 1766. Once in England, he lived with François Simon Ravenet, possibly working as his assistant, and later married his daughter Angelique. In 1771 he was in partnership with Jean Marie Delattre, who appears to have worked for John Boydell. The plate seems to have remained in Picot's possession and was never re-published. Only three impressions of this print are known and no references to the plate or to any impressions have been found amongst the many printsellers' catalogues that have been consulted. Performed for the first time on 27 December 1773, The Christmas Tale was said to have been written in haste by Garrick, in order to display ‘some fine Scenes which were design'd by Mons De Loutherberg particularly Burning Palace &c. which was extremely fine & Novel'.3 Genest remarked ‘- if it had been brought out as an afterpiece and a spectacle, it might have passed without censure, but such things when produced as first pieces must excite the indignation of all but barren spectators ... ‘.4 De Loutherbourg's revolutionary effects were overwhelming and Garrick's faith in him justified; a reviewer wrote after the first performance:
... The scenes are all new, excellent in their kind, have beautiful effects, and do g[r]eat humour to the Painters. The first is a river, with a castle at a distance; the second a Gentleman's seat, seen through an avenue arched with trees; the third is a cave, with separate dungeons enclosed with grates; the fourth a wood, in which the trees change colour alternately from green to red, resembling fire; the fifth a piece of ruins, with a sarcophagus; the sixth distant rocks, with a river of (very unnatural) fire, which at the blowing of Tycho's horn, disappears, and discovers a beautiful bay, with a castle on a promontory; the front of a castle next appears; seventh, (and the fourth act) are closed with a triumphal entry of the spirits in chains, followed by Tycho riding on a rhinoceros the eighth is a triumphal Turkish throne, as we mentioned before, succeeded by a horrid scene of fire, with the ebullition of blood, and the stage darkened. This is followed by a blue scene (the ninth) and the rising of the moon; a cloud then descends, and opening discovers the Hermit within them; soon after it rises again and exhibits to view a castle by the sea side.5As can be seen from this description, De Loutherbourg's stage innovations were ambitious and hugely imaginative. These were all intended to further illusion and to encourage the audience to suspend disbelief. He utilised spectacular new devices, such as the introduction of mechanical scene drops, which prevented interruptions from stage hands, and subtle lighting which could be changed by the use of silk screens and transparencies. De Loutherbourg used additional stage tricks such as setting moons and rising suns to control the exits and entrances of players. Stage sets were redesigned by breaking up the wing flats and borders into a number of smaller pieces, creating a convincing effect of depth and distance; realistic landscape scenery was added, with rocks, caves, tolling hills, forests and lakes, adding diversity and a natural irregularity.
Philip James de Loutherbourg, (b. Oct. 31, 1740, Fulda, Abbacy of Fulda d. March 11, 1812, Chiswick, Middlesex, Eng.), Also spelled Lutherbourg, or Lauterbourg, also called Philipp Jakob II, or Jacques Philippe II, an early Romantic painter, illustrator, printmaker, and scenographer, especially known for his paintings of landscapes and battles and for his innovative scenery designs and special effects for the theatre. First trained under his father, a miniature painter from Strasbourg, about 1755 he worked in Paris under Charles Van Loo, the Tischbeins, and finally Francesco Casanova. He was received into the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1767, and at the official Salon exhibitions he won the praise of Denis Diderot. In 1771 he went to London with an introduction to the actor-manager David Garrick, who hired him in 1773 as his regular adviser on scenic effects at Drury Lane Theatre. Loutherbourg created elaborate Romantic settings that were designed to bathe the entire stage in an atmosphere of picturesque illusion. He worked as a theatrical designer until 1785, and his set designs decidedly influenced his English - period paintings, which came to look like arrangements of stage scenery. Loutherbourg had a marked talent for ingenious dramatic effects in his paintings of landscapes, seascapes, and naval battles. He was made a member of the British Royal Academy in 1780. The following year he turned his talents to the immediately successful Eidophusikon, a moving panorama combined with dramatic lighting effects and music. He illustrated Macklin's Bible and an edition of the works of Shakespeare. His Romantic landscapes influenced J. M. W. Turner and other English artists.
In 1781, Philip James de Loutherbourg, an accomplished painter, put the finishing touches on what he called an Eidophusikon which attempted to present motion through the presentation of successive pictures. Based loosely on the camera obscura room and it's ability to entertain crowds, and leaning more towards the panorama and diorama, the Eidophusikon was first set up in a room in his house.
The Eidophusikon and a scene from Pandemonium Altick, R. The Shows of London You may wish to download a larger version of this image
Guests would peer through an aperture no less than 6 feet square to see pictures painted on fine tafata with colours which were transluscent. Light was projected from behind at different distances depending on the desired effect. Reflecting mirrors were added to define the scenery with brilliance and life. In his Musical Memoirs of 1830, Parke would coment on the Eidophusikon as the ...."newly invented transparent shades upon which was shed a vast body and brilliancy of colour producing an almost enchanting effect." A darkened auditorium aided Loutherbourg in setting a mood consistent with the program, and agreeable to the audience. It would be another hundred years however, before patrons would sit in theatres with only the screen/stage lit. Loutherbourg's first showing was that of an early morning scene of London.
The eighteenth-century Eidophusikon has been variously described as a mechanical theater, a miniature stage, a diorama, a panorama, or a physiorama. Featuring lighting, mechanical motion, sound effects, architectural simulation, dramatic special effects and something akin to a storyline, the Eidophusikon would probably be described today as "multimedia" or "virtual [real]ity."
Even more intriguing was the mechanical theatre of Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) which he called the Eidophusikon. Loutherbourg was born at Strasbourg, son of a miniature painter to the court of Darmstadt. Trained as a painter himself, success came quickly to him. The spirit of the age was one of inspired inventiveness and when he arrived in London in 1771 he was introduced to David Garrick the actor manager at Drury Lane who 'loved all art and artists' and designed scenery for him. He was one of the first to build actual miniature stage maquettes and in love with the world of theatre he set up the Eidophusikon in 1782 at his home for public performance. This soon had the whole London art world flocking to see it. There was a miniature stage which moved its scenery by means of pulleys and produced the illusion of changing sky effects, clouds, storms, sunrise by a moving backcloth of tinted linen lit from behind by lamps. Loutherbourg called it his 'movable canvas' and accompanied with telling sound effects as tiny mechanical actors appeared automatically and reenacted some such drama as Milton's Satan arraying his troops on the Fiery Lake. His work had a lasting effect on the London stage and the art of mise en scene, for he emphasized the need of lighting and picturesque scenery.
http://www.islandnet.com/~ianc
Prospectus of an Exhibition to be called 'The Eidophusikon' by W. Dalberg A German Artist, in reviving this Exhibition, (originally produced by the celebrated De Loutherbourg,) begs leave to present to the Nobility and Gentry, a description of his intended Exhibition. The Interior will be a Model of a beautiful Classic Theatre; the dimensions of the stage, 10 feet by 12; devoted entirely for Picturesque Scenery, Panoramas, Dioramas, and Physioramas. The following is a Programme of the Scenery: SCENE 1. A view from the summit of One Tree Hill, in Greenwich Park, looking up the Thames to the Metropolis; on one side, conspicuous upon its picturesque eminence, will stand Flamstead House; and below, on the right, that grand mass of building, Greenwich Hospital, with its imposing Cupola, cut out of pasteboard, and painted with architectural exactness. The large group of Trees forming another division, beyond which the towns of Greenwich and Deptford, with the shore on each side stretching to the Metropolis. In the distance will be seen the hills of Hampstead, Highgate, and Harrow; and the intermediate space will be occupied as the pool, or port of London, crowded with Shipping, each mass of which will be cut out of pasteboard, and receding in size by the perspective of their distance. On the rising of the Curtain, the scene will be enveloped in that mysterious light which is the precursor of daybreak; the mist will clear away, the picture brighten by degrees, until it assumes the appearance of a beauteous summer's day, gilding the tops of the trees and the projections of the lofty buildings; the clouds will pass to a clear and beautiful moon-light night. To make the view as true to Nature as art will allow, the Shipping and Steam Boats will sail up and down the river. SCENE 2. Diorama of the "Ladyes Chapel," Southwark, with the effects of Light and Shade. SCENE 3. The effect of a Storm at Sea, in which will be described all the characteristic horrors of wind, hail, thunder, lightning, and the roaring of the waves, with the loss of an East Indiaman. SCENE 4. A moving Panorama of English Scenery, from Windsor to Eton, the Exhibition of which was so universally admired at the Drury Lane Theatre. SCENE 5. A Calm, with an Italian Sea Port, in which will be represented the rising of the Moon, the Mountains, and the Water will be finally contrasted by a lofty Light House of picturesque
Although not born on English soil, Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg makes his claim to English landscape through the theatre. As scenographer for David Garrick at Drury lane, he developed an infatuation for the dramatic, the possibilities of representing the "effects" of nature, and for what an audience likes. His landscapes kept pace with contemporary taste and in the late 18th century yielded to the themes of the picturesque and the sublime, streams, falls, crags, rocky gorges, blasted trees, threatening clouds. In an age which glorified the scientific method and mastery of nature's secrets, his Eidophusikon, moving pictures which represented natural phenomenon (literally performing paintings), represented his most popular success. Meizel 1 tells us that...
"one can argue that de Loutherbourg's influence lay behind most of those persistent attempts of the English nineteenth century pictorial stage to endow itself with motion and ultimately to define itself by light."1 Meizel, Martin, 1983, Realizations: Narrative, Pictoral and Theatrical Arts in Nineteenth Century England. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, p. 170 also... "[...] The 18th and 19th century London stage served as an important site in which to exhibit illustrations of the far-flung reaches of the expanding Empire. David Garrick's A Christmas Tale, for example, with settings by Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg, presented at Drury Lane in 1774, boasted of settings taken from studies drawn in Wales by de Loutherbourg. John O'Keeffe's Omai, or A Trip Around the World was performed in front of settings taken, at least in part, from the engravings made by John Hawkesworth on his travels with Captain Cook.* The theatrical engravings which depict "exotic" landscape probably contain a greater accuracy in their depiction of flora and fauna than we might, at first glance, be inclined to expect."
Puppetry: Styles of puppet theatre: Lighting Lighting effects can also play an important part in a puppet production. The flickering oil lamp of the Javanese wayang enhances the shadows of the figures on the screen; as long ago as 1781, the scene painter Philip James de Loutherbourg used a large model theatre called the Eidophusikon to demonstrate the range of lighting effects that could be achieved with lamps. Modern methods using ultraviolet lighting have enabled directors of puppet productions to achieve astonishing and spectacular effects.
Theatre: Influence of technical achievements "...As interest in spectacle increased, the scene painter became more important, and by the late 18th century each theatre had two or more permanent scene painters. The best known designer around the end of the 18th century was Philip James de Loutherbourg, a painter; from 1771 he worked for the actor-manager David Garrick as scenic designer at the Drury Lane Theatre in London, and he is credited with changing the orientation of design from the architectural to the landscape era, thus marking the end of the Baroque in England. He was one of the pioneers of the cut cloth, a double back cloth in which there was an opening in the one nearer the audience that revealed a vista painted on the back one. He also utilized transparent scenery; in one production he cut the moon out of the canvas back cloth, replaced it with gauze, and lit it from behind. The importance that Loutherbourg's landscape painting of the back cloth assumed is shown by the fact that the Drury Lane pantomime of 1779 was specially written for the scenery he had designed while on a trip to Derbyshire. His depiction of actual places in England started a vogue for "local colour." Loutherbourg's single most important contribution, however, was that he achieved a unity of design because he directed both the scenery and the lighting and effects of a single production."
On the Laws of the Poetic Art Anthony Hecht Kenneth Clark, the art historian, tells us that
"Constable said that the best lesson on art he ever had was contained in the words, 'Remember light and shadow never stand still.'"Painting, by its very nature, is only able to present its subject in a state of absolute rest. So Constable's valuable lesson points to the difficulty that he was concerned to overcome or, to put it another way, the deficiency of his metier, which it was his business to remedy.
"A painter must compensate for the natural deficiencies of his art."Yet this is only the beginning of the problems painters must address. They must also, if they are representational painters, give us the impression of three dimensions while presenting them on a flat plane. This presentation in depth is conferred not only by the technique of perspective, but by what may be called atmospheric depth as well, by chiaroscuro. They may be concerned to persuade us that they are presenting the transient, the evanescent, fleeting impressions that almost evade us, as well as, for example, the veiled luminosity of pearls, the more intricate light that lines the curved walls of a globule of water at rest on a blade of grass, the still more intricate vectors of reflected light, rebounding among solid objects, the weight of brocaded dresses, the dull glint of armor, the delicate agitation of treetops in a mild breeze, the activity of clouds, the dull translucence of thick ice, the very feel of leather, of bark, of silk, or of fruit. We are shown as well things suddenly or characteristically in motion: wind-ruffled water surfaces or the storms in the paintings of Turner. What should strike us about these effects is that they convey convincingly precisely the fleetness of a passing moment in defiance not only of their natural character, but as a kind of triumph the more to be admired when we pause to realize that nature did not stand still for the artist, and that what we see as a captured instant must have taken that artist hours, and perhaps days, to render. The American artist Raphaelle Peale held an exhibition, in 1785, of "moving pictures" inspired by the Eidophusikon that Philip James de Loutherbourg had presented in London earlier in the 1780s. The intention was, by using colored lights and even sounds,
"with changeable effects, imitating nature in. various movements," as Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., reports, to present "such transient conditions and effects as dawn and nightfall, a rain storm with thunder and lightening and rainbow, fire, and rushing and falling water." http://www.google.com
Philippe Jacques de Loutherbourg painted a panorama - he called it the Eidophusikon - which he exhibited in Panton Square in London. He made it as realistic as possible by using lighting and sound effects. It was very popular. Gainsborough went to see it every evening. De Loutherburg wanted to show a free expanse of landscape and evade the constriction of the frame. Pictures have been painted on concave surfaces with the same Idea.
The Landscape Painter..., an unpublished manuscript on outdoor sketching (c.1956) and specifically part 31 How to Look at Nature http://moose.sharecom.ca/phillips
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