From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berthold Bartosch (December 29, 1893 – November 13, 1968) was a film-maker, born in Bohemia (now Czech Republic).

He moved to Berlin in 1920 and collaborated with Lotte Reiniger on her paper silhouette animations:

• The Ornament of the Loving Heart
• The Battle of Skagerrak
• The Adventures of Prince Achmed
• Dr Dolittle

In 1930 Bartosch moved to Paris and created the 30 minute film entitled "The Idea" to which he is most remembered for. It is described as the first serious, poetic, tragic work in animation. The film's characters and backdrops were composed of several layers of different types of paper from semi-transparent to thick cardboard. Special effects like halos, smoke and fog were made with lather spread on glass plates and lit from behind. The film was based on a book of woodcuts from Frans Masereel, The idea. "The Idea" featured a score by composer Arthur Honegger, including an Ondes Martenot, which is believed to be the very first use of an electronic instrument in film history.

From 1935 to 1939 Bartosch worked on an anti-war film "St. Francis" or "Nightmare and Dreams." When the Nazis invaded Paris, he deposited the film at the Cinémathèque Française. The film was destroyed during the Nazi occupation, and only a few still images exist.

In 1948, he spent a year working for UNESCO in Paris mentoring George Dunning, a London-born animator known for his involvement with the Beatles's 1968 animated feature, "Yellow Submarine".