There is provided a
liquid crystal projector capable of enhancing heat
radiation of light modulating means including a
liquid crystal light valve, preventing dust or the like from being attached to the surface of the
liquid crystal light valve, and making black matrixes formed between pixels in the
liquid crystal light valve invisible. The liquid
crystal projector includes a
light source unit,
colored-
ray dividing means for dividing light emitted from the
light source unit into three
colored rays, light modulating means for serving to modulate the three
colored rays on the basis of a given
image signal and to emit the modulated rays which are predetermined linear polarized rays, colored-
ray synthesizing means for synthesizing the modulated rays, and optical projection means for enlarging and projecting the synthesized rays synthesized by the colored-
ray synthesizing means onto a screen. The light modulating means includes entrance dust-proof glasses 420R, 420G, and 420B made of crystallized
quartz or
sapphire having a
uniaxial crystal structure and disposed on entrance sides of liquid
crystal light valves 440R, 440G, and 440B of the light modulating means, respectively, and exit dust-proof glasses 460R, 460G, and 460B made of crystallized
quartz or
sapphire having
birefringence and disposed on exit sides thereof, respectively.