Le mystère Picasso
Henri-Georges Clouzot, France, 1956o
Using a specially designed transparent 'canvas' to provide an unobstructed view, Picasso creates as the camera rolls. He begins with simple works that take shape after only a single brush stroke. He then progresses to more complex paintings, in which he repeatedly adds and removes elements, transforming the entire scene at will, until at last the work is complete.
What goes on in the mind of an artist when he creates a piece of work? This is the question French director Henri-Georges Clouzot, otherwise known for thrillers such as Les Diaboliques and Le salaire de la peur, tried to fathom in 1956. To do this, Pablo Picasso painted in his studio on a pane of glass, which was filmed from the other side. Using stop-motion technique, twenty vignettes are created whose motifs can be deciphered stroke by stroke. The images in the film, which range from simple drawings to collages to oil paintings, were supposedly destroyed after production, making the film the actual work of art. Particularly fascinating is how many layers Picasso creates in some paintings that would have remained hidden without the film technique. A unique documentation of the artistic creative process that offers far more than watching paint dry.
Moritz HagenEin filmisch überragender Versuch, Picassos Malkunst ‹direkt› und unmittelbar darzustellen: Vor der Kamera malt Picasso auf ein transparentes Spezialmaterial und kommentiert dabei höchst eigenwillig und amüsant seine Ideen. Clouzot hat mehr als drei Monate bei der Erarbeitung dieses Films mit dem Maler verbracht. Das Ergebnis ist eine technisch brillante Studie über den künstlerischen Schaffensprozess.
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