Julienne Alexandrine Mathieu ( - ) was one of the earliest French

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

actresses who appeared mostly in French silents between 1905 and 1909. She appeared in the

'' Hôtel électrique'' released in 1908, one of the first films to incorporate stop animation. She was the wife of the director

Segundo de Chomón Segundo Víctor Aurelio Chomón y Ruiz (also Chomont or Chaumont ; 17 October 1871 – 2 May 1929) was a pioneering Spanish film director, cinematographer and screenwriter. He produced many short films in France while working for Pathé Frè ...

. Her contribution to his work was not only her participation in the cast, but also in the

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

and the special effects (in particular,

Pathécolor Pathécolor, later renamed Pathéchrome, was an early mechanical stencil-based film tinting process for movies developed by Segundo de Chomón for Pathé in the early 20th century. Among the last feature films to use this process were the British ...

process to which she introduced her husband).

Biography

From 1907 to 1909, she was credited in the cast of at least 42 films. Most of them were shot by

, but she also appeared in films of Gaston Velle,

Albert Capellani Albert Capellani (23 August 1874 – 26 September 1931) was a French film director and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed films between 1905 and 1922. One of his brothers was the actor-sculptor Paul Capellani, and another, film dir ...

Ferdinand Zecca Ferdinand Zecca (19 February 1864 – 23 March 1947) was a pioneer French film director, film producer, actor and screenwriter. He worked primarily for the Pathé company, first in artistic endeavors then in administration of the international ...

and Lucien Nonguet. Many of these productions are marked by the use of special effects, of which her husband and she have become specialists, such as stop-motion animation,

pixilation Pixilation is a stop motion technique in which live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor beco ...

, overprinting, dissolving, even

tracking shot A tracking shot is any shot where the camera follows backward, forward or moves alongside the subject being recorded. In cinematography, the term refers to a shot in which the camera is mounted on a camera dolly that is then placed on rails � ...

. For their inspiration, they closely imitate the production of Méliès, definitive pioneer but less successful : by funding the Mathieu-Chomón couple, Pathé Frères Productions sought to regain the advantage over its competitor, Star Film. Her life on screen ends in 1909. Her sister, France Mathieu, appeared then in her place, and disappeared soon from the picture too. From 1912 to 1925, Julienne Mathieu seems to have lived in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

(Italy) with her family, sometimes called Suzanne. She died in oblivion at the Hospice of Charity (Ospizio della Carità) in

Chieri Chieri (; pms, Cher) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont (Italy), located about southeast of Turin, by rail and by road. It borders the following municipalities: Baldissero Torinese, Pavarolo, Montaldo Torine ...

(Italy) on December 1, 1943, while the city was still under German occupation after the fall of Fascist Italy. Julienne Mathieu having her hair brushed

Julienne Mathieu having her hair brushed

Analysis

Principal character of movies where magic was central, Julienne Mathieu was almost always presented as the master of ceremonies, unlike other productions of her time, by Méliès or Blackton for example, which faced the same diegesis. In ''En avant la musique'' (1907), a film parodying Méliès' ''Le mélomane'' (1903), for example, she was playing a female bandmaster who stole the heads of her male musicians to throw them on a giant musical sheet. The rehabilitation of Julienne Mathieu is pending, according to the organizers of a conference in 2018: ''« Figures that have remained in the shadows are emerging, like Julienne Mathieu who could be qualified as co-author on each of her films. »'' For others, she was an excellent connoisseur of the entertainment industry and of cinematographic techniques, and she was at least an ''« artistic collaborator »''.

Filmography

1909 * 1909. '' Le Roi des aulnes,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1909. ''Le jeu de patience,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1909. ''Voyage dans la Lune (Nouveau voyage à la Lune),'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1909. ''La leçon de musique,'' by Segundo de Chomón (4 min, color, silent, 1.33) 1908 * 1908. ''Le voyage original'' ''(A New Way of Traveling),'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1908. ''Le voleur mystérieux,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1908. ''Sculpture moderne'' (ou ''Sculpteur moderne,'' ou ''Sculpteurs modernes''), by Segundo de Chomón (4 min, stencil), produit par Pathé-Frères * 1908. '' Magie moderne'', by Segundo de Chomón (3 min, stencil, format 1.33, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. ''Le chevalier mystère (''ou ''Chevalier mystère)'''','' by Segundo de Chomón (color, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères), with André Deed * 1908. ''Chiffonniers et caricaturistes (Chiffonniers caricaturistes, Chiffonniers et caricatures),'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1908. '' La légende du fantôme,'' by Segundo de Chomón (13 min 30 s, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. '' La Belle au bois dormant,'' by Lucien Nonguet or

(11 min 16 s) * 1908. '' Hôtel électrique,'' by Segundo de Chomón (9 min 31 s, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. '' Les cocottes en papier,'' by Segundo de Chomón (5 min 40 s, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. ''Les teintes chinoises'' * 1908. ''Les têtes fantastiques,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1908. '' Les dés magiques,'' by Segundo de Chomón (7 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. '' Le miroir magique,'' by Segundo de Chomón (2 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. '' Cauchemar et doux rêve,'' by Segundo de Chomón (4 min 45 s, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. ''Les incompréhensibles,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1908. ''Les joies du mariage,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1908. '' Les ombres chinoises (Sombras chinescas),'' by Segundo de Chomón (3 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1908. '' La belle et la bête,'' by

(11 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) 1907 * 1907. '' Les œufs de Pâques,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1907. '' La fée des roches noires,'' by Segundo de Chomón (3 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1907. '' Le spectre rouge,'' by Segundo de Chomón et

(9 min, stencil, format 1.33, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1907. '' Les chrysanthèmes,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1907. '' La grenouille,'' by Segundo de Chomón (3 min, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1907. ''Le rêve de Toula,'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1907. '' Le sculpteur express (Sculpture express),'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1907. '' Satan s'amuse,'' by Segundo de Chomón (9 min) * 1907. '' En avant la musique,'' by Segundo de Chomón (1 min 51 s, sonore) * 1907. ''Armures mystérieuses (L'armure mystérieuse),'' by Segundo de Chomón * 1907. '' Vie et passion de Notre Seigneur Jésus Christ,'' by Lucien Nonguet or

(43 min, prod.: Pathé-Frères) – role of the Virgin Mary * 1907. '' Les verres enchantés (The Enchanted Glasses),'' by Segundo de Chomón (3 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1907. '' Les glaces merveilleuses,'' by Segundo de Chomón (7 min, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) * 1907. '' L'étang enchanté,'' by Segundo de Chomón (1 min 30 s, silent, prod.: Pathé-Frères) 1906 * 1906. ''La dernière sorcière,'' by Segundo de Chomón 1905 * 1905. ''La poule aux œufs d'or,'' by Gaston Velle or

(16 min) * 1905. ''L'antre infernal,'' by Gaston Velle

External links

Pages on Pathé Database

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathieu, Julienne French stage actresses French film actresses French silent film actresses 20th-century French actresses 1874 births 1943 deaths Women film pioneers French cinema pioneers Special effects people