Phantasmagoria: From magic lantern to cinematograph

The Courtois family achieved international renown with the theatre of Louis Courtois, best known as 'Papa Courtois'. Louis, born in Waasmunster in 1785, was a visionary who acquired a magic lantern long before its breakthrough as a visual mass medium. As a son of itinerant showpeople, he inherited their nomadic lifestyle as well as their creative talent, which he combined with his fascination for technology and illusion. According to the press, his experiments with life-size puppets and optical instruments depicted various scenes of a bygone era. His shows were heralded as 'cabinets de physique et mécanique' and included spectacular optical demonstrations with the lantern as a highlight.

As early as 1818, Courtois and his family toured Flemish fairs in cities such as Ghent and Bruges, where he projected 'Italian Nighttime Scenes' with his lantern. Audiences were captivated by the large, bright images that took them to far-off places often only known from stories. The programme intertwined imagination with the macabre. In 1824, Louis moved to Paris with his large household of nine children and his compatriot Jean-Baptiste Van Hoestenberghe. Meanwhile, their repertoire had expanded to include phantasmagoria. In the tradition of their fellow-countryman Robertson, stage name of Liège-born Etienne Gaspard Robert, they used the magic lantern for which it was best known: to make ghosts and spirits appear before a bewildered audience. The technique created a terrifying atmosphere that thrilled spectators.

The phantasmagoria's technical foundation lies in the magic lantern (laterna magica), a device akin to a slide projector. Using a lens and a light source, it projects and magnifies transparent images from glass slides onto a white wall or canvas. German Jesuit Athanasius Kircher described the device as early as 1646, but Dutch Protestant Christiaan Huygens likely built the first functioning model around 1659. Huygens's book contains notes and drawings of a dancing skeleton holding its own skull. The innovation of animating projected images through movable glass slides and a light source was groundbreaking and generated excitement. The magic lantern became one of the most spectacular and influential tools in the history of visual media.

By the 1830s, Louis Courtois had expanded his repertoire with series entitled 'Historical Scenes' and 'Seasons of the World', showcasing famous cities such as Paris, London, and Rome. These hand-painted glass slide projections were often based on paintings and engravings, which added artistic quality to the colourful images. For many, this was the only way to catch a glimpse of distant cities, as travelling was reserved for the upper class at the time. These virtual trips were immensely popular. In 1843, an Ypres newspaper described how Courtois's show ended with tableaux of churches, parks, and iconic panoramas that provided the audience with true-to-life impressions.

Julie, Louis's eldest daughter, and her husband André-Joseph Grandsart continued the family tradition with their Theatre Grandsart-Courtois, gaining fame at fairs in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.  A true pioneer within the male-dominated world of visual and scientific entertainment, Julie presented herself as a 'physicist and magician'. The couple invested in a large travelling theatre that could seat as many as six hundred spectators. Their Palais Enchanté was renowned for its refined and lavish aesthetic. Heated and illuminated by two hundred gas lamps, it created a fairy-tale atmosphere for full-length performance of magic, acrobatics, music, and dance.

Their sons Emile and Jules soon joined the varied programme with their own acts. The theatre incorporated the latest advancements in light projection, mechanics, and electricity, leading to breathtaking displays of colourful animated scenes and picturesque landscapes, advertised as 'the most beautiful panoramas in the world'. Lantern projections were a regular feature. Long before cinema, these itinerant theatres displayed moving pictures using complex mechanical glass slides and carefully chosen images to create smooth transitions and impressive visual effects. One notable innovation was the lantern with multiple lenses, which captivated audiences with animated scenes, such as rippling water, spinning windmills, a volcanic eruption, or the transition from day to night. Projections were hailed as 'living paintings'.

Jules Grandsart-Courtois, the son of Julie and André-Joseph, married Adrienne Boesnach, the daughter of a Dutch fairground photographer. Jules innovatively combined photographic techniques and new themes to satisfy the fairground audience's demand for novelty. He distinguished himself by using the magic lantern to narrate historical and topical stories. Jules was an expert at selecting themes that appealed to his audiences' tastes. His innovative use of the magic lantern brought both local and international news to cities and towns, allowing audiences to witness significant historical events and distant lands.

At the 1892 Kortrijk Fair, for example, Jules showcased images of the 1889 Paris World Fair, highlighting its illuminated fountains, lauded as a technological marvel. In September 1894, he took the audience in Tournai on a virtual journey to the 1893 Chicago Exposition, an exhibition that celebrated the grandeur of modern American architecture and culture. Only one month later during the October fair in Liège, Jules projected images from the Antwerp World Fair earlier that year. His theatre was consistently packed to the rafters.

Emile Grandsart, Jules's brother, much like the rest of his family, kept the fairground tradition alive by marrying Clémence Consael, who came from another well-known fairground lineage. Their marriage united two influential families. This was not unusual in the fairground community, as solidarity and cooperation were key. Together, Emile and Clémence toured a panopticon diorama museum, offering visual spectacle and education. After Emile's untimely passing in 1891, Clémence, left with fourteen children, took charge of the family business with determination.

Despite the rarity of women in leadership roles at the time, Clémence successfully managed the company. She led it with a visionary eye. When the cinematograph made its appearance, she immediately saw its potential. She remarried to Julien Levis, and together they introduced early cinema to Belgian and French fairs with their Royal Cinematograph Parlant. While permanent cinemas did not yet exist, Clémence deployed her travelling cinema across squares and fairgrounds, which became one of Belgium's largest cinémas forains.

The transition from the magic lantern to the cinematograph marked a new chapter for visual spectacle at the fairground. The Grandsart-Courtois family embraced this innovation, blending illusion and innovation to popularize early film projection. Their theatre demonstrated that the fairs were more than carousels and candyfloss: They were laboratories for experimenting with science, art, and illusion, offering audiences a window into new realities.

The next generation continued to innovate. Jules Grandsart's daughter, named after her grandmother Julie, performed the Serpentine Dance as of 1894. Inspired by American dancer Loïe Fuller, known as the 'mother of modern dance', Julie transformed the stage into a fairy world under her stage name Miss Walter. Draped in flowing silk veils, she glided gracefully through the space, while the magic lantern cast colourful projections of flowers, stars, and moonlight over her swirling dress. The resulting performance was a hypnotic interplay of light and movement.

The Theatre Grandsart-Courtois proved time and again that the fair was a laboratory where technology, art, and innovation went hand in hand. From the magic lantern to the cinematograph, and from electric lighting to colourful light projections, the Grandsart-Courtois family showed how the fairground was an ideal environment to cultivate technical innovation. That pioneering spirit lives on. Where lanterns and early films once provided audiences with a magical experience, VR experiences take their place today: They can simulate a dizzying rollercoaster experience or take visitors on a virtual journey through space. As such, the fairground continues to lay the groundwork for new technologies and visual magic.