In the '20s and '30s, theatres of cinemas were provided with large illustrations to attract visitors. One of the artists was Fred Julsing Sr. who among other things made the movie poster for Tarzan the Invincible (1947) . He had a workshop in The Hague at the time . He was also a cinema director. Years ago I was in contact with his son Fred Julsing Jr. who sent me a picture of him. He told me he should still have a picture of his Tarzan work somewhere. Unfortunately Fred passed away a few years later without us ever being able to see the photo. He had looked for it but unfortunately never found it.

Another artist known for his movie murals vas Leo Mineur. Leo Mineur (1892-1976) was officially not a visual artist, even though he sometimes made a painting himself. He was good friends with artist Dolf Henkes, who gave status to his own artistry. The basis for this mural is a picture of him in his workshop during the time he lived with his wife Lena on Katendrecht. Mineur stood to book as "a great Rotterdam artist", with fashionable clothing and knowledge of the Parisian artist life. He was mostly fascinated by the French impressionists.

Mineur's career began in 1919 with Atelier Engelman, also an advertising and bioscope painter, and developed a smart technology there. He asked the filmmaker for a piece of film, celluloid, then projected it on a big board and put those contours in the background. This is how the paintings became much more realistic and he could not even notice it a bit more; especially making the women more seductive and the violence more. 

Not everyone thought that was a good idea, and so it turned out that censors came up to approve the paintings. Those paintings were often censored by  Catholic mayors and had to be modified or removed when they were too frivolous in his opinion. A development thanks to Mineur. But that went too far for some customers. Tuschinski Got So Angry, That Engelman Sacked Minor Who Then Started For Himself. This is how Atelier Leo Minor was born in 1924 . 

The first few years didn't go well at all. Minor wasn't good at acquisition and very nervous. In 1940, his workshop in the center was also destroyed by the bombing. After the war, the company finally blossomed on . Wall art was a matter of size and scale, of suggestion, illusion and influence. It was supposed to look good without attention to detail and finish as soon as possible. As realistic as possible, sometimes soft focus. The profession requires skills and you shouldn't be afraid of heights and if it was going to thunder, you'll get shocked sometimes... For the Capitol cinema, he provided the entrance to the Tarzan illustration in 1932 .

(Photo credit: Eye Film Museum)
~ Ron de Laat - Netherlands