
A Klieg light is an intense
carbon arc lamp
An arc lamp or arc light is a lamp that produces light by an electric arc (also called a voltaic arc).
The carbon arc light, which consists of an arc between carbon electrodes in air, invented by Humphry Davy in the first decade of the 1800s, ...
especially used in
filmmaking
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
. It is named after
inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
John Kliegl and his brother
Anton Kliegl. Klieg lights usually have a
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections.
The simpler Dioptrics, d ...
with a spherical reflector or an ellipsoidal reflector with a lens train containing two plano-convex
lenses
A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements''), ...
or a single step lens.
Film
The carbon-arc source was so bright that it allowed film directors to shoot daytime scenes at night. The ultraviolet rays produced by the light also led to some actors developing an eye inflammation referred to as "
Klieg eye".
Stage
In the early days of spotlights, the name "Klieg light" became synonymous with any
ellipsoidal reflector spotlight
Ellipsoidal reflector spot (abbreviated to ERS, or colloquially ellipsoidal or ellipse) is the name for a type of stage lighting instrument, named for the ellipsoidal reflector used to collect and direct the light through a barrel that conta ...
(ERS), other carbon-arc sources or any bright source. Initially developed for film, the Klieg light was adapted for use as an
incandescent
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation emitted by the thermal motion of particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation. The emission of energy arises from a combination of electro ...
stage fixture in 1911.
Although not completely certain, the title of the first ellipsoidal reflector spotlight often goes to the 1933 Klieglight, which was first used to light an outdoor pageant in New York.
Century Lighting introduced their
Lekolite, developed by Levy & Kook, hence the name "Leko", in the same year.
Kliegl Brothers Universal Electric Stage Lighting Company was founded in 1896 and grew to be the largest stage lighting company in the world. The company closed in the 1990s, though members of the original Kliegl family continue to work professionally in the lighting industry to this day.

Alternative name
While the Kliegls were German-born, the "klieg light" generic name for their type of stage and film lights was never popular in Germany, which developed Europe's largest movie industry in the 1920s. "Kliegl-Leuchte" never caught on and was almost unknown, since the Kliegl Brothers company had limited business in continental Europe. Instead, the generic term was "Jupiterlicht," or literally, Jupiter light, or in French "lampes Jupiter," so named after a Berlin company supplying German and European studios and theater stages. The technical brand name quickly became popular as a generic metaphor for the movies. For example, renowned German-American cinema theorist and sociologist
Siegfried Kracauer
Siegfried Kracauer (; ; February 8, 1889 – November 26, 1966) was a German writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist. He has sometimes been associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He is notable for ...
used the title "Die Jupiterlampen brennen weiter" for his 1926 critique of
Sergey Eisenstein's film ''
Battleship Potemkin
'' Battleship Potemkin'' (, ), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent epic film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by Sergei Eisenstein, it presents a dramatization of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 ...
''; this classic text, often used in cinema studies, has been translated into English as "The Klieg Lights Stay On" but in French as "Les lampes Jupiter restent allumées".
[Siegfried Kracauer, "Die Jupiterlampen brennen weiter: Zur Frankfurter Aufführung des Potemkin-Films". ''Frankfurter Zeitung'', 19 May 1926, reprinted in Kracauer et al. (eds.), ''Werke''. Frankfurt, 2004, p. 234; Siegfried Kracauer, "Les lampes Jupiter restent allumées: À propos du Cuirassé Potemkine". ''Le voyage et la danse: Figures de ville et vues de films''. Ed. Philippe Despoix. Québec 2008, p. 69 https://epdf.tips/voyage-et-la-danse-figures-de-ville-et-vues-de-films.html(accessed 2023-02-24); Siegfried Kracauer, "The Klieg Lights Stay On: The Frankfurt Screening of Potemkin". ''The Promise of Cinema: German Film Theory 1907-1933''. Eds. Anton Kaes, Nicholas Baer, and Michael Cowan. Berkeley 2016, p. 353]
(accessed 2023-02-24)
See also
*
Actinic conjunctivitis
Actinic conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the eye contracted from prolonged exposure to actinic (ultraviolet) rays. Symptoms are redness and swelling of the eyes. Most often the condition is caused by prolonged exposure to Klieg lights, the ...
—inflammation of the eye that may be caused by overexposure to Klieg lights or other bright lights
*
Limelight
Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...
References
External links
Kliegl BrosJoel Rubin interview
Stage lighting instruments
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