The Lumiere brothers are people whose names are shrouded in so many legends and fables that it is very difficult to figure out where the truth is and where the fiction is. But we will try.
In October 1862, the eldest of the brothers, Lumiere Auguste Louis Marie Nicolas, was born in Besancon. He was born in the family of the inventor Antoine Lumiere, who made a small fortune in the production and sale of photographic products.
Two years later, in October 1864, the youngest of the Lumieres, Louis Jean, was born. From childhood, the character and inclinations of the boys were different. Quiet and painful, Louis spent a lot of time at home with his father, doing creative work. He loved painting, sculpture and music. Then he adopted from his father a passion for invention.
The shy and inquisitive Auguste was fond of photography and medicine. Later, he not only joins his fatherās business, but also opens his clinic and pharmacological laboratory.
Beginning of career brothers in the field of photography
In 1882, the brothers' father bought a large plot in Lyon, on which he built a factory for the production of photographic plates. At the very beginning of her work, Antoine almost suffered bankruptcy, which was prevented thanks to Louis. He invented new photographic plates, qualitatively different from the previous ones. His āBlue Labelsā gave him the opportunity to take quick photos. The old silver bromide emulsion technology made the photographing process extremely long.
Gradually, Louis and Auguste Lumieres formed a real tandem, where everyone was assigned a specific role. Inventive Louis was responsible for the process, and Auguste was assigned the role of manager, with whom he coped well.
The invention of cinematography
Finally, in 1889, his father brought from Paris a new invention of Thomas Edison - a kinetoscope with a set of twelve tiny films. It was a bulky building that allowed you to watch a movie only by yourself, looking into a small window in the building.
On its basis, Lumiere Louis Jean created a new device - cinematography. It was a real portable studio. The device allowed to make video shooting, print positives and demonstrate video. It was only necessary to open the door and install a strong light source behind the device. The film moved and a moving image was created on the screen.
That is why it will be considered Edison as the pioneer of cinema. The brothers recognized his superiority in the invention of the kinetoscope and even paid him lenders when they showed their films in the USA.
It is worth saying that at first the Lumieres considered photography the main business of their life, but they treated the cinema with some neglect and did not see the future in it. Despite this, they continued to work on technology, because they were businessmen and were not used to missing out on profits, and cinema was just beginning to become fashionable at that time.
According to contemporaries, Louis and Auguste Lumieres were inseparable, they worked fifteen hours a day, but still met every morning for breakfast. Even Auguste's marriage to Margaret Winkler in 1893 did not change anything in their relationship, and a year later Louis married Margaret's sister, Rosa.
First movie show
And then, on December 28, 1895 in Paris, having removed āGrand Cafeā for 14 francs a day on 14 Capuchinok Boulevard, they arranged the world's first public film show. Entrance ticket cost one franc. The brothers organized a cinema hall in the basement and one of them, twisting the cinema handle, projected the image onto a white screen. By the way, Louis also came up with perforating the edges of the film.
Viewers could see the first ten films of the Lumiere brothers, each not more than a minute long. Contrary to popular belief, among them was not the famous āArrival of the train at La Ciotat stationā, since it was released only in January next year.
The first films
The paintings shown that evening included one of the brothers āmost famous films, The Workers' Exit from the Lumiere Factory. There are three officially recognized versions of this film, which indicates a serious and creative approach of the brothers to the filming process. Moreover, all three versions were shown to the public, as reported by newspaper reports.
According to experts, all three versions were shot on the same day, this is evidenced by the features of lighting and the location of the shadows. This film can be considered the first in the history of cinema, because it was first shown to the public on March 22, 1895 at a conference of French photographers.
In the list of films of the first film screening was the picture āWatered Waterer,ā which can be considered the first comedy production film. There is a version that the plot of the film is taken from life. So joking with the old gardener, stepping on a hose, was loved by the younger brother of the Lumieres - Eduard, after who died tragically in the First World War.
By the way, it is possible that the same gardener on the screen, because the brothers did not spend time searching for actors for their films and involved everyone who could fit the role: servants, workers of their factory, their own and other children.
In the picture "Breakfast of the Baby", shown on this day, the participation of Auguste's daughter - Andre. In 1918, at the age of 24, she would die of the flu.
Further development of cinema and photography
On the first night, the brothers sold a total of thirty-five tickets. Itās not easy considering the expenses, but the publicās interest was growing rapidly, film screenings became regular, and after three months the brothers earned two thousand francs per night.
To revive the atmosphere of silent cinema, the Lumieres began to invite tappers: pianists and saxophonists to accompany the film screening with musical works corresponding to the film.
The Grand Cafe became a cinema, and the brothers sent their projectionists to Europe to promote cinematography and shoot new interesting stories about world attractions and world events, for example, the coronation of Nicholas II.
The brothers themselves went on tour in Japan, India and China. And by 1903, the brothers āmovie library totaled more than two thousand films. After the Second World War, the collection, including the first films of the Lumiere brothers, was transferred to the French Academy of Sciences.
Louis worked not only on the image, but also on color. Thanks to his inventions, color photographs have survived, preserving documentary evidence of life at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.
Leaving the cinema
Auguste was the first to leave the family business together and seriously took up medicine. Louis made his last film āPassion of Jesusā in 1898, and after that he was exclusively engaged in the production of movie equipment. A few years later he sold his patents and devoted himself to research in the field of color and volume cinema.
Photography and film are not the only areas of application for the brothers' talents. In World War I, they made many inventions in the field of medicine. Louis seriously engaged in prosthetics, and Auguste invented special dressings for healing burns and wounds.
Louis died on June 6, 1948 at the age of eighty-three. Auguste died on April 10, 1954, in the ninety-first year of his life.
Lumiere Institute
In 1975, the huge Lumiere factory was almost completely destroyed. There was only one hangar left, the same one, the famous one, from which the workers came out in the first film of the brothers. Authorities drew attention to the structure. The hangar began to be considered a historical monument and was used as the basis for the construction of a large complex dedicated to the Lumiere family.
The vast territory where the factory was once housed is now occupied by the Lumiere Institute. It hosts festivals, creative meetings and workshops, shows modern films by talented directors, as well as old films, including āArrival of a train to La Ciotat stationā. The complex includes the Lumiere Brothers Museum, a park, a cinema and the Louis Lumiere School. The Institute has become one of the main attractions of Lyon.
Lumiere Film Award
In 2009, as part of the Lumiere Brothers Film Festival, held annually in Lyon, the institute instituted the Lumiere Prize. It is awarded to people who have made a significant contribution to the development of world cinema. Thierry Fremaux, director of the Lumiere Institute, believes that over time, this award will become an alternative to the Nobel in the field of cinematography.