Through the Keyhole: Spectator and Matte Shot in Early Cinema

Early cinema audiences were greatly affected by the extraordinary scientific and technological developments of the late 19th century. The visual environment of the first cinema spectators was informed by the rapid changes caused by a veritable revolution in perception. This article investigates in particular the look at the camera and through a matte. In early cinema, in fact, it was not taboo to look at the camera, because the position of the camera had not yet taken on a diegetic role. It was rather the place of the spectator which was designated by the gaze of the characters. And unlike images that today represent the point of view of a fictional character, these early images represent the viewer's gaze. Early cinema, then, can be analyzed as a historical phenomenon which bears the traces of its original audience.