Géza Blattner

G\u00e9za Blattner (1893\u20131967) was a Hungarian painter and puppeteer who led the Arc-en-Ciel puppet theatre in Paris from 1929 to 1940. He co-founded a shadow puppet theatre in Budapest in 1919 before moving to Paris in 1925.1

Arc-en-Ciel featured puppets designed by prominent artists and incorporated various styles, including African-inspired figures. The theatre initially presented puppet pantomimes and later introduced marionette plays with dialogue, such as "Aucassin and Nicolette" and "The Mystery of Virgin Mary". A notable achievement was their performance of Imre Mad\u00e1ch's "The Tragedy of Man," which won a gold medal at the 1937 Paris World Exhibition. The company disbanded due to the German invasion of France, and Blattner continued with puppetry until 1958 before returning to painting.1