To realize bright video display by increasing light quantity effectively made incident on a liquid crystal layer at a liquid crystal display element provided with only one lens array layer.

This display element is constituted of the lens array layer 104 where plural convex lenses 105 are arrayed, a separating layer 106 closely stuck at the lens array layer 104 and constituted of two or more layers of thin film having light transmitting performance, a liquid crystal layer 103 closely stuck at the separating layer 106 and a liquid crystal holding substrate 101 closely stuck at the liquid crystal layer 103. The thin film nearer the liquid crystal layer 103 out of two or more layers of thin film constituting the separating layer 106 has a higher refractive index. Thus, an incident light beam 113 or 115 is efficiently made incident on the liquid crystal layer 103 as parallel light beams without being cut by a black matrix 111.