Editing Berthold Bartosch

{{Infobox person
| name          = Berthold Bartosch
| image         = 
| image_size    = 
| caption       = 
| birth_name    = 
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1893|12|29|df=y}}
| birth_place   = Polubný, now part of [[Kořenov]], [[Bohemia]], [[Austria-Hungary]] (now [[Czech Republic]])
| notable_works = ''[[The Idea (1932 film)|L'Idée (The Idea)]]''
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1968|11|13|1893|12|29|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Paris]], France
| occupation    = Film-maker
| years_active  = 
}}

'''Berthold Bartosch''' (29 December 1893 – 13 November 1968) was a film-maker, born in [[Kořenov|Polaun]], in the [[Bohemia]] region of [[Austria-Hungary]] (now part of the [[Czech Republic]]).

==Work with Lotte Reiniger==
He moved to [[Berlin]] in 1920 and collaborated with [[Lotte Reiniger]] on her paper [[silhouette animation]]s:
*''The Ornament of the Loving Heart''
*''The [[Battle of Skagerrak]]''{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
*''[[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]] in [[Vienna]], 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Bendazzi|first=Giannalberto|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/934475892|title=Animation : a world history|publisher=[[Focal Press]]|year=2016|isbn=978-1-138-94307-0|volume=1. Foundations - The Golden Age|location=Boca Raton|pages=138|oclc=934475892}}</ref>

In 1919, Bartosch opened a branch of Hanslick's production company in Berlin, where he met other artists including [[Bertolt Brecht|Berthold Brecht]] and [[Jean Renoir]]. At that time, he collaborated with [[Lotte Reiniger]] on ''[[The Adventures of Prince Achmed|Prince Achmed]]''.<ref name=":0" />

==Work in Paris==
In 1930 Bartosch moved to [[Paris]] and created the 30 minute film entitled 'L'Idée' (''[[The Idea (1932 film)|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]] from semi-transparent to thick [[Paperboard|cardboard]]. Special effects like [[wiktionary:halo|halos]], smoke and fog were made with [[Foam|lather]] spread on glass plates and lit from behind. Bartosch based the film on a [[wordless novel]] of [[woodcut]]s by [[Frans Masereel]], ''[[The Idea (wordless novel)|The Idea]]'' (1920).

''L'idee'', when released in 1933, featured a score by composer [[Arthur Honegger]], including an [[ondes Martenot]], which is believed to be the very first use of an electronic musical instrument in film history. The following year, [[Franz Waxman]]'s score for ''[[Liliom (1934 film)|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]] 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]] in Paris mentoring [[George Dunning]], a Canadian-born animator known for his involvement with [[the Beatles]]'s animated feature, ''[[Yellow Submarine (film)|Yellow Submarine]]'' (1968).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0059292}}
*[https://archive.org/details/TheIdeaByBertholdBartosch1932 The Idea animation master piece free at Internet Archive]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131129043225/http://www.re-voir.com/boutique/category.php?id_category=20 Re:voir DVD edition of The Idea]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartosch, Berthold}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Jablonec nad Nisou District]]
[[Category:German Bohemian people]]
[[Category:German animated film directors]]


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