ABSTRACT
A plaster or stone bust gradually transformed into an animated woman, a skeleton and a bouquet of flowers, and then back to a woman again. This specific sequence of images, produced by a complex interplay of reflecting mirrors and lanterns, was presented by several fairground artists. According to press reports and archival sources in Europe dating back to 1887, the attraction went by various names: ‘Métempsycose’; ‘le rêve de Pygmalion’ (the dream of Pygmalion), ‘le secret de Pygmalion’ (the secret of Pygmalion) and ‘le triomphe des dieux de l’Olympe’ (triumph of the Olympic gods). It refined and elaborated the classical Pepper’s Ghost illusion with better mirroring techniques and seamless dissolving views. Moreover, its narrative form and iconographic sequence expressed a spiritual belief in reincarnation and evolution rather than a belief in death and the great beyond. By examining both the technique and the narrative of the métempsycose, this chapter situates the illusion as part of a visual literacy in Europe that, in contrast to British audiences, expressed a widespread belief in transmigration of the soul. The Continental show continued as long as the spectacular effects of the lantern were able to compete with the possibilities of photography and film.
