Giuseppe Pinetti

Half a century before Robert-Houdin was called the father of modern magic, a conjurer was already known across Europe. His name was Giuseppe Pinetti, and in his lifetime the profession had no theatre of its own.

Key achievements

1. Regarded as the most celebrated conjurer in eighteenth-century Europe.
2. Performed at the court of Louis XVI.
3. Left written works on conjuring that influenced those who came after.
4. Credited with moving conjuring toward a respectable theatrical art.
5. The lawyer Henri Decremps published La Magie blanche dévoilée in 1784 purporting to explain his work; the two were long-standing rivals and the explanations are held to have been largely guesswork.

Before there were theatres

Pinetti was born in Italy in 1750. In France he was known as Chevalier Joseph Pinetti.

In the eighteenth century there was no such thing as a theatre for conjuring. There were essentially two places to work: the fairground booth and the houses of princes. You played to a crowd or to a court. The paying ticket-holder in between had not yet appeared.

Within that world, Pinetti performed at the court of Louis XVI — the highest position available to a conjurer of his day.

The most celebrated of his century

He is regarded as the most celebrated conjurer in eighteenth-century Europe.

More importantly, he is credited with moving conjuring away from fairground spectacle and toward a respectable theatrical art — essentially the same credit later given to Robert-Houdin.

Which is to say that “making conjuring an art” was not a single achievement by a single man. Pinetti won standing at court; half a century later Robert-Houdin opened a theatre in Paris. It happened in stages.

He also left written works on conjuring, and these influenced those who came after.

1784, the exposure

Pinetti’s name also survives through a book written to attack him.

In 1784 a lawyer named Henri Decremps published La Magie blanche dévoilée, purporting to explain every one of Pinetti’s effects.

There is context. Decremps and Pinetti had a long-standing rivalry, and Decremps was an amateur enthusiast — his explanations are held to have been largely guesswork.

Books that claim to expose magic are almost as old as magic itself. What this episode demonstrates is that the person doing the exposing does not necessarily know the answer. The book sold and was talked about regardless.

This archive does not deal in method, and an event from 240 years ago is instructive about whether that policy holds up. Pinetti’s name did not disappear, and the book written to unmask him was recorded alongside it.

On the date of his death

He is thought to have died around 1803. Sources differ on the year. This archive does not assert what cannot be established, so the date is given with that latitude.

What survives of eighteenth-century performers is far thinner than what survives from the nineteenth. Even so, the name remained, along with the fact of the court performances and the existence of the book written against him.

A thin record does not mean a small life.

Notable works

• His performances at the court of Louis XVI
• His published writings on conjuring

Chronology

Only years that could be verified are listed.

1. 1750 Born in Italy
2. 1784 Henri Decremps publishes La Magie blanche dévoilée, attempting to explain Pinetti's work
3. 1803 Dies around this year; sources differ on the date