Albin Grau (b. December 22, 1884 in Berlin, d. in 1942 in Buchenwald or in 1971 in Berlin) was an artist, architect and occultist, and the producer and production designer for F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu. He was largely responsible for the look and spirit of the film, including the sets, costumes, storyboards and promotional materials.
As a life long student of the occult he was able to imbue Nosferatu with hermetic and mystical undertones. One exam...
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Albin Grau (b. December 22, 1884 in Berlin, d. in 1942 in Buchenwald or in 1971 in Berlin) was an artist, architect and occultist, and the producer and production designer for F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu. He was largely responsible for the look and spirit of the film, including the sets, costumes, storyboards and promotional materials.
As a life long student of the occult he was able to imbue Nosferatu with hermetic and mystical undertones. One example in particular was the cryptic contract that Count Orlok and Knock exchanged, which was filled in Enochian, hermetic and alchemical symbols. Grau was also a strong influence on Orlok's verminous and emaciated look.
Before Grau and Murnau collaborated on Nosferatu, Grau was planning to create several movies devoted to the occult and supernatural through his studio, Prana Film. Since Nosferatu was a loose and unauthorized translation of Bram Stoker's Dracula Prana had to declare bankruptcy in order to evade infringement lawsuits. This made...
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