Berthold Bartosch (29 December 1893 – 13 November 1968) was a film-maker, born in Polaun, in the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

region of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(now part of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Work with Lotte Reiniger

He moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1920 and collaborated with Lotte Reiniger on her paper silhouette animations: *''The Ornament of the Loving Heart'' *''The Battle of Skagerrak'' *'' The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' *''Doctor Dolittle'' Bartosch created what some consider the first multiplane camera in order to achieve some of the effects for these films.

Early career

In 1911, Berthold Bartosch studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he met Erwin Hanslick, a teacher at the Fine Art School that was a crucial influence for Bartosch. Hanslick proposed Bartosch collaborate in educational animated films "for the masses", and Bartosch accepted. They created geographical and politically oriented films, which were the only apprenticeship that Bartosch received. In 1919, Bartosch opened a branch of Hanslick's production company in Berlin, where he met other artists including Berthold Brecht and

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

. At that time, he collaborated with Lotte Reiniger on '' Prince Achmed''.

Work in Paris

In 1930 Bartosch moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and created the 30 minute film entitled 'L'Idée' ('' The Idea'') for which he is most remembered. The film is described as the first serious, poetic, tragic work in animation. The film's characters and backdrops were composed of several layers of different types of

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, Textile, rags, poaceae, grasses, Feces#Other uses, herbivore dung, or other vegetable sources in water. Once the water is dra ...

from semi-transparent to thick cardboard. Special effects like halos, smoke and fog were made with lather spread on glass plates and lit from behind. Bartosch based the film on a wordless novel of woodcuts by Frans Masereel, '' The Idea'' (1920). ''L'idee'', when released in 1933, featured a score by composer

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...

, including an

ondes Martenot The ondes Martenot ( ; , ) or ondes musicales () is an early electronic musical instrument. It is played with a lateral-vibrato Keyboard instrument, keyboard or by moving a ring tied to a wire, creating "wavering" sounds similar to a theremin. D ...

, which is believed to be the very first use of an electronic musical instrument in film history. The following year,

Franz Waxman Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca (194 ...

's score for '' Liliom'' (1934) used a theremin. From 1933 to 1938, Bartosch worked on an anti-war film, ''St. Francis'' or ''Nightmare and Dreams'', a 25-minute piece being financed by Thorold Dickinson. When the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

invaded Paris, he deposited the film at the Cinémathèque Française. The film was destroyed during the Nazi occupation, and only a few still images exist. In 1948, he spent a year working for

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

in Paris mentoring George Dunning, a Canadian-born animator known for his involvement with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

's animated feature, '' Yellow Submarine'' (1968).

References

External links

*
The Idea animation master piece free at Internet ArchiveRe:voir DVD edition of The Idea
1893 births 1968 deaths People from Jablonec nad Nisou District German Bohemian people German animated film directors {{animator-stub