Erik's Torture Chamber
& Mirrored Halls
| Catoptric Cistula | Mirror Hall in Tehran | Musée Grévin |
| Crystal Palace | Pakistan Crystal Palace |
| Hall of Mirrors at Versailles |
Musée Grévin
Christine mentioned Musée Grévin in comparison to what Érik's torture chamber looked like, however it was opened on June 5, 1882. After Leroux stated the story took place. So what gives?
Christine's Quote
– Oui, on se croirait au Musée Grévin !… Mais, dites donc, Érik… il n’y a pas de supplices là-dedans !
… Savez-vous que vous m’avez fait une peur !… – Pourquoi, puisqu’il n’y a personne !… |
"Yes, you it looks like the Musee Grevin....But, tell me Erik..that there is no tortures in there!
...Do you know that you have given me a fright!" ~23 The Tortures Begin |
The Musée Grévin in Paris is one of the oldest waxwork museums in Europe. It was founded on June 5, 1882 by Arthur Meyer, a journalist for the news paper Le Gaulois as well the one who revived the news paper in 1882. Leroux know doubt new the man perhaps even was friends with him. The mention of Musée Grévin was probably more a nod to the newspaper that originally published Le Fantôme de l'Opéra which was Le Gaulois 1909-1910. And an easy way for Leroux to have Christine explain the what the torture chamber looked like to an audience that wasn't not familiar with mirrored rooms, Disneyland or even fun houses or anything of that nature, rather than an oversight. The Musée Grévin was model after Madame Tussauds founded 1835 in London. However this was not the first wax museum in Paris in 1762 Curtius opened a cabinet of wax figures, in 1776 it moved the Salon de Cire to Palais-Royal and on 1782 opened an annex on Boulevard Saint-Martin , then transferred to Boulevard du Temple 1787.
Catoptric Cistula
The mirrored torture chamber is also based in part on the concept of a catoptric cistula or catoptric theatre/chest. Which is a type of box or cabinet with many sides lined with mirrors. This is done to either multiply images, magnification, or deformation, of anything placed inside it. Looking through the window, several holes or opening you can view a multiple prisms. Which would have 3 or more sides normally 6 as in the fig 1 bellow ABCDEF. A hexagon shaped chest is a six-sided polygon and would have 6 cells. Looking through different holes you could see different scenes all seemingly taking up much more room that the chest contains and at different distances from each other.
Sometimes instead of dividing the inside into cells they line 3 sides of the wall of a six-sided chest. At the aperture the quicksilver or tin was scraped off the mirror so you can see through it to produce and fuller effect by placing objects at the bottom. By looking through the hole you will see the object places at the bottom now are multiplied greatly and now they are separated equally.
Erik six-sided torture chamber is based of these concepts. No doubt Erik would have built something smaller like a cabinet version and used it in his shows before building a full scale room.
Sometimes instead of dividing the inside into cells they line 3 sides of the wall of a six-sided chest. At the aperture the quicksilver or tin was scraped off the mirror so you can see through it to produce and fuller effect by placing objects at the bottom. By looking through the hole you will see the object places at the bottom now are multiplied greatly and now they are separated equally.
Erik six-sided torture chamber is based of these concepts. No doubt Erik would have built something smaller like a cabinet version and used it in his shows before building a full scale room.
The Kircherian Museum or Musaeum Kircherianum was a public collection of curiosities founded in 1651 at the Roman College in Piazza del Collegio Romano, Pigna District, Rome, Italy. Alfonso Donnini donated his Cabinet of curiosities to the College and Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher turned it into a museum. It was a large scale Wunderkammer/Cabinet of curiosities; originally cabinet stood for a private room as a retreat or a study. It was considered the first museum in the world. This collection included musical instruments, machines made by Alfonso Donnini himself, it also included all sorts of technology, art, antiques, science, and archeology.
The Crystal Palace
The plate glass and cast iron structure was built 1851 in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition. A modern architecture marvle not needing to be lite from the inside. It was later dismandled and rebuilt even larger atop Sydenham Hill. Said to be an enchating builting houses many cruisities incklding, gardens and water foutains with two water jets that reached 249 feet into the air. Water was a huge problem. The amount of water needed colapsed the water towers. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was consulted and built two enormous towers on the northern and southern ends of the building. Sadly, on November 30, 1936, in the middle of the night , when a toilet caught on fire and due to heavy winds that stoked the flames it burned down in a matter of a few hours. Due to the building not being properly insured the destruction was not covered. It was the end of an age.
The Crystal Palaces of Pakistan
Sheesh Mahal at Lahore Fort
Sheesh Mahal, شیش محل “Crystal Palace” (Urdu), Located in Shah Burj block or NW comer of Lahore fort, Punjab, Pakistan. Built in 1631–32 during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the ornate white marble pavilion is covered in the finest mirror-work, it became known as the 'Palace of Mirrors'.
Sheesh Mahal at Agra Fort
Built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in 1631-40 and is part of the summer palace. Covered from wall to ceiling in glass mosaic work with a mirror like quality that causes it to twinkle.
Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
Hall of Mirrors at Versailles inspired the Grand Foyer
All photos used on this page are in public domain in the U.S. {{PD-US}}, unless other wise stated