Chrétien, Henri Jacques

SUBJECT AREA: Photography, film and optics

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b. 1879 Paris, France

d. 7 February 1956 Washington, USA

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French astrophysicist, inventor of the anamorphoser, which became the basis of the Cinemascope motion picture system.

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Chrétien studied science, and after obtaining his bachelors degree he started his working life at Meudon Observatory. He married in 1910, the same year as he was appointed Head of Astrophysics at Nice. In 1917 he helped to found the Institut d'Optique in Paris. Chrétien became Professor of astrophysics at the Sorbonne and in 1927, as part of his work on optical systems, demonstrated the use of an anamorphic lens for wide-screen motion pictures. Although the system was demonstrated in Washington as early as 1928 and again at the Paris International Exposition of 1937, it was not until 1952 that Twentieth-Century Fox were able to complete purchase of the patents which became the basis of their Cinemascope system. Cinemascope was one of the most successful technical innovations introduced by film studios in the early 1950s as part of their attempts to combat competition from television. The first Cinemascope epic, The Robe, shown in 1953, was an outstanding commercial success, and a series of similarly spectacular productions followed.

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Further Reading

Obituary, 1956, Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers 65:110.

R.Kingslake, 1989, A History of the Photographic Lens, Boston (biographical information and technical details of the anamorphic lens).

JW