Lumière brothers

The well-known Lumière brothers began with the creation and managed to complete the design of their cinematograph in 1895, at the Salon Indien of the Grand Café du Boulevard des Capucines, in Paris. Most of the technical problems encountered in filming and showing films had been solved long ago. The French inventors mentioned above, were responsible for designing a system that allowed the projection of films in places or large spaces. But at the same time, it was through this that they managed to take the first step towards the creation of modern movie theaters, to which hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world nowadays come to admire the films of their favorite actors and directors. It is fair to say, therefore, that with the invention of the Lumière, one of the industries that has had the greatest influence on contemporary culture and society, the cinema, was born.

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Who were Lumière brothers?

The Lumiére brothers, both of French nationality, were in charge of creating and designing a device known as a cinematograph during the year 1895, which allowed the adequate projection of films in wide places or spaces, giving way to the modern movie theaters we have today.

Lumière brothers’ biography

Auguste and Louis Lumière, French brothers, were born in Besançon, France on October 19, 1862 and October 5, 1864, respectively, from a small family of minority industrialists, who developed during a time when the capitalist bourgeoisie was celebrating its first victories. Auguste was a shy and withdrawn boy, more like his mother, Parisian Jeanne Josephine Costille; Louis, on the other hand, was determined and courageous. Louis was determined and courageous. Without a doubt, Louis was reserved to take initiative and action, while Auguste seemed destined for the role of submissive and obedient. Both brothers were always very close.

His father, Antoine Lumière, worked as a shop sign painter in his youth. After a while, he moved to Besançon to devote himself to photography. In 1870 he went with his family to Lyon and opened a photographic studio and stopped painting. Antoine sent his children to study at the Martinière industrial school in Lyon. Louis’ health was weak and for this reason he did not attend classes regularly. This forced him to spend long periods at home, where he soon became familiar with his father’s activities and developed his favorite hobbies: music, drawing and sculpture, for which he was very well endowed. The Lumière brothers’ interest in movement photography began in 1894, when their father brought them Edison’s kinetoscope from Paris. During 1903, the brothers took different directions. Louis remained working in the Montplaisir factory, he devoted himself to studying color and relief in photography and cinema, he was the first person to try the large or panoramic screen, he also invented a mixture to prevent the freezing of oil in the airplane engines during the First World War. On the other hand, Auguste, his brother, left cinema completely and devoted himself to studying biology and physiology. He created the Lyon research center, the Lumiére laboratories and dedicated himself to carrying out studies on different diseases such as tetanus and tuberculosis. He had a heterodox vision, so he was always rejected by most doctors.

What did the Lumière brothers’ invent?

One of the first inventions of the Lumière brothers was the cinematograph, which was patented on February 13, 1895. During that year, they were able to shoot their first film and it was presented to the public on March 22, 1895. Although the Lumière brothers thought that cinema was an invention that had no future, they made the most of it so that, they managed to establish a business, they travelled wherever they were needed to film. Another of their inventions was color photography, which they discovered in 1903 through a process called Lumiére authocrome, which was launched in 1907. The brothers also contributed to the development of staging and editing by bringing together four different films created by them.

Films by the Lumière brothers

• La Mer (1895)
• Leaving the factory (1895)
• Skulls (1895, with this film began horror films in the cinematographic area)
• The demolition of a wall (1896, while shooting this film began to use tricks in the history of cinema)
• The irrigator irrigated (1895, and with it began the era of comedies)
• The train’s arrival (1895, during the shooting of this film something very important for the cinematographic world was given and it was that it began with the use of the inverse travelling, which allowed to appreciate the depth of field.
• The arrival of the delegates (Le débarquement des congresistes). This film was made in the year 1895, in it could be observed some congressmen getting off a boat. The film was projected a few hours after its filming and is considered until today as the first news in the modern world.