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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1434

The Artist and the Mannikin

Synopsis

An artist positions a mannequin as a model for his painting. A visitor secretly takes its place, strikes him with a broom and returns the dummy before he can respond, leaving his servant delighted by the deception.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
1:09
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Georges Méliès · Public domain

Cast

Reception and legacy

Long considered lost, the short was identified and restored by the Filmoteca de Catalunya. Its recovery returned a simple performance-based prank to the surviving Méliès catalogue.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 16, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Georges Méliès — Georges Méliès; Publicity materials for an exhibition at La Caixa Foundation: http://press.lacaixa.es/socialprojects/exhibiton-georges-melies-magic-of-cinema-caixaforum-barcelona-eng__816-c-17952__.html · Public domain

Audience rating

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