Étienne-Gaspard Robert (15 June 1763 – 2 July 1837), often known by the stage name of "Robertson", was a prominent Liégeois (now part of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

) physicist, stage magician and influential developer of

phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or sem ...

. He was described by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

as "an honourable and well-educated showman".Zeitler, William.
E.G. Robertson
". Accessed 29 July 2007. Alongside his pioneering work on projection techniques for his shows Robert was also a physics lecturer and a keen balloonist at a time of great development in aviation.

Early work

Born in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far fro ...

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...

, Robert studied at

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic c ...

and became a professor of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

specialising in

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultrav ...

. He was an avid painter and intended to move to France to pursue a career in art. He moved to Paris in the 1791 and maintained a living as a painter and draughtsman. While there he attended lectures in

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

as well as those by Jacques Charles, a fellow scientist and important figure in ballooning history. Charles would go on to become a mentor for Robert. In 1796, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

and three years after the declaration of war between France and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

, Robert met with the French government and proposed a method of burning ships of the British Royal Navy. Based on the myth of the mirrors of Archimedes, he wanted to employ enormous

mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...

s to direct intense amounts of sunlight onto the British vessels. The government turned down his suggestion.Burns, Paul.
The History of The Discovery of Cinematography: Chapter Six 1750–1799
. Accessed 29 July 2007.''Adventures in Cybersound''.

. Accessed 29 July 2007. Robert experimented with various areas of physics, giving public demonstrations about his research into galvanism and optics in the 1790s and early 19th century.

Fantasmagorie

Inspiration from Philidor's show

Robert probably attended one of Paul Philidor's ''Phantasmagorie'' shows in Paris in 1792 or 1793. In 1790 in Vienna, Philidor had turned the fake séance ghost projections of charlatans into his pioneering

spectacle that allowed larger audiences to watch a safe but scary show. He probably profited from a strong light source, but especially revolutionized the concept of ghost-raising by claiming he used scientific and optical art to reveal how charlatans duped gullible audiences. After performing in Paris for about half a year, Philidor left and was not heard of again in France (although he took his show to other European cities). With his understanding of optics, Robert would have had relatively little problem figuring out how Philidor's ghosts were created with the

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...

. Years later, his further technological prowess was combined with his skills in painting and showmanship, in developing his own pre-cinema horror show. He evidently felt safe from any possible claims from Philidor and only slightly altered the spelling of the title that Philidor had introduced in Paris.

Fantoscope

Robert read the works of 17th-century scholar Athanasius Kircher and was particularly interested in the magic lantern. He created his own version of the device with several improvements, adding adjustable lenses and a moveable carriage system that would allow the operator to change the size of the projected image. He also made it possible to project several different images at once using more than one painted glass slider. The resultant display had a very ghostly effect, especially when in a smoky atmosphere. Through this the operator had the ability to manipulate images projected from an unseen location.''Prints George''.
Phantasmagoria
". Accessed 29 July 2007. In 1799, after further refining the system, he received a patent for his "magic lantern on wheels", naming it the Fantoscope.

Shows

Robert developed a phantasmagoria show based around his projection system and the use of other effects and techniques. Robert scripted scenes that involved actors and ventriloquism alongside his projections, creating a convincing impression of the appearance of ghosts.Heard, Mervyn.
The Lantern of Fear
". Accessed 11 September 2013. Robert used several projection devices in a variety of ways, including

rear projection Rear projection (background projection, process photography, etc.) is one of many in-camera effects cinematic techniques in film production for combining foreground performances with pre-filmed backgrounds. It was widely used for many years in ...

and projection onto large pieces of wax-coated

gauze Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave. In technical terms "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each warp yarn keeping the weft firmly in place. ...

(giving the image a more translucent appearance). He also used smoke and mirrors to further disguise the mechanisms behind his show. His painting skills allowed him to create accurate depictions of famous French heroes such as

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the '' sans-culottes'', a radica ...

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

, and

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

. Robert appeared at the Pavillon de l'Echiquier on 23 January 1798 and performed his first show. His charisma and the never-before-seen visual effects left the audience convinced that they had seen real ghosts, with many left terrified by the performance. After being investigated by the authorities, Robert's show was shut down in Paris. He moved to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

and continued to perform, before returning to Paris a few weeks later. It was during this trip to Bordeaux that Robert first experience balloon flight as a passenger – an experience that would have a massive influence on his life. On his return to Paris Robert discovered that two of his former assistants had continued the performances without him. He refined his show, making it more elaborate and inventive and started performing in a more permanent location from 3 January 1799. The Gothic surroundings of the crumbling Convent des Capucines near the

Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It i ...

gave Robert the ideal eerie home for his show. The shows began with the audience being shown

optical illusion Within visual perception, an optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is an illusion caused by the visual system and characterized by a visual perception, percept that arguably appears to differ from reality. Illusions come in a wide v ...

s and

trompe-l'œil ''Trompe-l'œil'' ( , ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface. ''Trompe l'oeil'', which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into ...

effects on their way to the showroom. Inside the candlelit room the audience would be seated as audio effects emulate the sound of wind and thunder and an unseen glass harmonica plays unsettling music. Robert would then enter the room and start a monologue about death and the afterlife. He then began the show in earnest, creating smoky mix of

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular for ...

and

aqua fortis Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitric ...

before projecting his ghostly apparitions. The shows were performed at the Convent des Capucines for four years, and Robert went on to take the show around the world, visiting Russia, Spain, and the United States among others. During his travels he dedicated a lot of his time to ballooning.

Balloon flights

The grave of Etienne Robertson, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris

Robert was a keen balloonist who designed and flew balloons in different countries around the world. On 18 July 1803 in Hamburg he set an altitude record in a

montgolfière The Montgolfier brothers – Joseph-Michel Montgolfier (; 26 August 1740 – 26 June 1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (; 6 January 1745 – 2 August 1799) – were aviation pioneers, balloonists and paper manufacturers from the commune An ...

. He spent many flights investigating meteorological activity.National Museum of Denmark.
The Soul in Nature: 1802
". Accessed 30 July 2007. Robert's two hydrogen-balloon flights in Hamburg, a third in St. Petersburg and a fourth in RigaGemeinschaftliche Erklärungen der Füllung eines Luftbalons (Aerostaten) bei Gelegenheit der Luftfahrt des Herren Professor Robertson. Rigasche Anzeigen. 35. Stuck - 29. Aug. 1804. Gemeinnutzige Beilage. were claimed to be "scientific" by himself. In fact, he did numerous observations: Observations of barometer and thermometer, on shapes and altitudes of cloud formations, the behaviour of parachutes at different altitudes, the evaporation of

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again ...

, the electrical properties of different materials and the air, behavior of a magnetic needle, the boiling point of water at great altitudes, sound propagation, influence of the high altitudes on animals ( pigeons and

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

), strength of solar radiation, the solar spectrum, gravity properties, chemical composition of the air and pressure of the air. Nevertheless, close examination of the results shows, that many of them contradict with laws of physics, which were already known at the time of the flights. Prof. L.W. Gilbert discussed the results published by Robert in his Annalen der Physik.Gilbert, L.W.
Annalen der Physik Volume 16, 1804, p.257-290
and showed why Robert was wrong. For example, Robert claimed, that a

spring scale A spring scale, spring balance or newton meter is a type of mechanical force gauge or weighing scale. It consists of a spring fixed at one end with a hook to attach an object at the other. It works in accordance with Hooke's Law, which states th ...

with attached weights showed a lower weight at altitude as compared to the ground. Such an effect exists, but only becomes apparent at altitudes in excess of 70,000 feet (20,000 metres). In 1806 an audience of 50,000, including the royal family, gathered at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen to see Robert and his balloon. Robert flew all the way to

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

– a remarkable feat for the time. The event made a lasting impression on

Hans Christian Ørsted Hans Christian Ørsted ( , ; often rendered Oersted in English; 14 August 17779 March 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricit ...

, an influential Danish physicist who went on to write a series of poems about the flight.

Other details

Robert officially opened the third

Jardin de Tivoli, Paris The Tivoli gardens of Paris were amusement parks located near the current site of the Saint-Lazare station, named after the gardens of the Villa d'Este in Tivoli near Rome. There were several such gardens in succession between 1795 and 1842, none ...

on 14 May 1826. He died in Paris in 1837 and is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery. The huge monument bears bas relief sculptures depicting audiences being startled by ghoulish shows. Image:robertson1.jpg, Robertson Gravesite, Paris, France Image:robertson2.jpg, Detail of Robertson gravesite Image:robertson3.jpg, Detail of Robertson gravesite Image:robertson4.jpg, Detail of Robertson gravesite