After several months without posting anything, I
get back on track again on my little Blog. During the lat months I’ve been busy
with the publishing of my book dedicated to Special effects on Spanish Cinema. For
this reason I have decided to dedicate this article to the pioneers of matte
painting and miniatures on Spanish films.
After the research I've been doing in these
last years, I have not found Spanish films with matte paintings for the years
of silent films, except a couple of productions that were filmed in France.
Like, La Bodega (1930)
In this case the matte paintings were made by
the British artist Walter Percy Day.
Also working in French cinema of the decade of
the twenties, was the Russian art director Pierre Schildnecht.
During his time in France
In the early forties, Schild moved to Spain Spain
He remained in Spain
Two matte paintings by Schild from Ines de Castro (1944)
Two matte paintings from the film Camoens (1946)
During his early years he had a Spanish assistant
who learned the used of hanging miniatures and glass paintings. Juan Alberto Soler,
who became art director in Barcelona
Pedro Schild supervising a hanging miniature for Sucedio en Damasco.
Some years later, when Juan Alberto became art director,
he executed his own matte paintings when required, and made use of miniatures
regularly.
One glass panting from Los que nunca mueren (1955) and a foreground minature from Doce horas de vida (1948) both by Juan Alberto.
There
were other art directors experimenting with those tricks during the late 30´s
and early 40´s.
German
art director Sigfredo
Burmann, started painting backdrops for theatre and then became art director
for films. He learned the glass and matte painting techniques during his works
in Germany
It was on the forties when Burmann talked to his main backdrop painter, Enrique Salvá,
suggesting that he should try to do some glass paintings for his film Los ultimos de Filipinas (1945)
Other art director interested on those perspective tricks was Enrique
Alarcon. He learned under Pedro Schild, and then
worked as assistant of Burmann for a couple of films. When he became
art director he took full responsibility of designing the numerous
foreground miniatures he used during that decade, like the upper part of a boat
dining room for the film Deliciosamente
tontos (1943)
He brought
his expertise to such a degree of building sets that consisted only in a floor
and a small background, building everything else on a miniature perfectly
matched. Two samples of minimum sets for the film La noche del
And the
interior of a Jewish temple on the film El
beso de Judas (1953)
He first took advantage of glass paintings for the film El Clavo (1944)
He commissioned Enrique Salvá the
backdrops, and glass paintings. Salvá became the main Spanish matte
painter of those years. He had a young apprentice under his tutelage those
years; he was Emilio Ruiz, who learned
with him the technique of painting backdrops and glass shots.
Enrique Salvá and his young assistant Emilo Ruiz on location with the partiallly built set from Alba de America(1951) with sets designed by Sigfredo Burmann
The upper part of the interior of a cathedral was painted on glass by Salvá-Ruiz team for the film Locura de amor (1948) with sets by Burmann.
The upper part of the interior of a cathedral was painted on glass by Salvá-Ruiz team for the film Locura de amor (1948) with sets by Burmann.
There was another Spanish artist making glass
shots for films, the art director Alfonso de Lucas, who used foreground
miniatures for the first time on the film Orosia
(1944) He was a master on the use of hanging miniatures and also executed
glass paintings when it was necessary.
Foreground miniature from Orosia.
For the film Don Juan de Serrallonga (1948) he used hanging miniatures like that room on which two-thirds of the frame are miniature
including the ceiling, solomonic columns
and the wall with the painting.
Foreground miniature from Orosia.
He also completed a set with a hanging miniature
ceiling on the film Mi enemigo el doctor
(1944)
For that same film he painted on glass the
upper part of a 17th Century Inn.
On the film El hijo de la noche (1949) Alfonso de Lucas created a minimum set with
a street floor and a faraway backdrop painting,
enhanced with a glass painting street.
Alfonso de Lucas painting the street view.
There were many other art directors who mad use
of hanging miniatures on Spanish cinema during those years, like, Francisco Canet,
Emilio Ferrer, or Teddy Villalba.
The first one is a ceiling from La
patria chica (1943) by Villalba.
Below, another ceiling for the film Una
chica de opereta (1943) by Ferrer.
And at the botton the upper half of the frame is a miniature of
the interior of Notre Dame cathedral for the film Eugenia
de Montijo (1944) by Canet and Luis Santamaria.
Most of those miniatures were built by set
constructors like Francisco Asensio, Francisco Prosper, or Enrique Bronchalo.
Prosper already knew this technique since the
40s, but he gained even more experience working extensively with miniatures in
the sixties and seventies with Eugene Lourie and Ray Harryhausen.
Coming next:
In search of matte artist Darrell A. Anderson.