Double visuality the presence of painting in film:
British film maker Derek Jarman studied painting at the Slade School of Art in London.
Caravaggio is a compelling portrait of genius as problematic existence
We see Caravaggios most famous paintings - following attributions by recent art history - created before our eyes as the models pose for the artist. Painting turns into cinematic narrative; we see the making of death of the virgin (1605-1606, Louvre) and other works while the strenuous task of being an artists model is realistically highlighted.
A painter himself, Jarman's film is its own work of art--a personal portrait of an artist, a rebel--and a man in love. He makes effective use of bold imagery: a snake on a basket, shadows on a wall and any scene that brings Caravaggio's paintings to life, and uses sound to suggest grander surroundings.
The first Tableau vivant is ‘Baccus’ (1595) posed by Dexter Fletcher in his first scene as the youthful Caravaggio,
Sean Bean character Renuccio is introduced at the same time as Gary Cooper who plays Davide, both actors at the beginning of their careers,
The masters of cinematography where the greatest followers of Caravaggio and Rembrandt in using chiaroscuro, for they knew how to manipulate the light to be able to separate the background from the foreground, colour chroma helps to do this, but in the days of black and white ...
Techniques of black and white films, helps celebrate Caravagio’s use of lighting, but also reveals the texture of the background, the result is a convincing and alluring set which reads very clearly on camera.
All these subtle gestures are meticulously considered by Jarman to situate the audience inside the paintings of Caravaggio.
Evocative and...
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...ted, that it throws a new light on the original. It is perhaps to the extent that the film is a complete work and as such, seems therefore to betray the painting most, that it renders it in reality the greater service.(bazin, 1967:168)
“It is not possible to look at works through the eyes of the past, only the present, and no one coming to Michelangelo or Shakespeare should ignore this unveiling. Civilization is same sex.” (Jarman, Smiling in Slow Motion:176)
“its difficult to know how the seventeenth century understood physical homosexuality... The laws of the church certainly forbade what is called ‘sodomy’... The term ‘homosexual’ which identifies and ostracizes a group becuase of their desires and inclinations, is a nineteenth-century clinical invention, c.1860.” - (Jarman, dancing ledge:21) -Screening Early Modern Drama: Beyond Shakespeare, By Pascale Aebischer.
...elationship between the people in the composition and their feelings in each other’s company. The viewer is forced to think critically about the people in the painting and their feelings and body language.
Filming such a location at night provides the director with the opportunity to use chiaroscuro (a technique of strong contrast) to further convey the dominance of technology over humanity. For example in outdoor scenes the garish flickering neons are obtrusively visible but they fail to illuminate the obscure, dark, fogged surroundings, including the multitudes of faceless people. The prominent visibility of artificial things over human presence together with the qualities of the location indicates the degradation of human life under the rule of science.
This analysis will explore these cinematic techniques employed by Pontecorvo within a short sequence and examine their effects on our understanding of the issues and themes raised within the film.
Smith, R. “Eternal objects of desire. Art Review- Art and love in Renaissance Italy” in New York Times Art and Design, November 20, (2008)
The media object selected for analysis is the Daguerreotype. Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre (1787-1851), a Romantic painter and printmaker, had introduced the Daguerreotype on 7th January 1839 and would forever change the perspectives of the visual experience through photography (Daniel, 2004). Ever since the advent of the Daguerreotype, people were able to view a detailed imprinting of a certain visual frame on a treated sheet of copper (which today is called the film) (Daniel, 2004).
In our analysis of Jules et Jim, rather than examine fleetingly the whole gamut of expressionistic techniques, we shall instead explore in some detail the more important methods, paying particular attention to temporal and spatial distortions, editing and montage, special visual effects, and finally discover the manner in which Bazin’s archetypal techniques of realism—long-takes and composition-in-depth.—are recast.
I chose “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew” as the painting that best illustrates the baroque period. The reasons surrounding my decision are clear in Caravaggio’s painting. Here Caravaggio uses the entire canvas to illustrate complexity, flow, and chiaroscuro. The painting depicts the source of lighting to be coming from the left side of the plane. The brightest light focuses directly on Matthew’s executioner who intends to strike Matthew with an old balcanic hand weapon. Caravaggio masterfully illustrates the use of lighting by casting believable shadows. As an example, the shadow of the handle on balcanic hand weapon reflects on the executioner’s left thigh and knee. Another shadow appears on the executioner’s right inner thigh. The lighting source to the left of the executioner, the executioner, St. Matthews, the boy, the 2 observer’s bottom, right, and the fainter lighting upper left of the canvas illustrates the technique of visual movement. The lighting is placed strategically, causing visual movement within the piece. For example, the illumination of the executioner’s forearm directs my attention to the angel who appears to be handing St. Matthew a palm leaf. As a result, my eyes then focuses on the body of St. Matthew, lying on the bottom of the altar, then my eyes shifts up toward the Angle’s arm. The lighting on the angel's arm contrasted with the darkness of the palm leaf forces the viewer to look at the hand to see what St. Matthew is reaching for. The boy fleeing the scene further draws in the viewer. The two adult observers at the bottom right of the painting are illuminated but not as bright as the two main characters. Next, my attention is drawn to the man lying on the bottom steps, left side of the canv...
Benjamin argues that the original meaning of art is no longer the same. Due to technological innovations, the original meaning of images is skewed, and “in the age of pictorial reproduction the meaning of paintings is no longer attached to them; their meanings becomes transmittable…When a painting is put to use its meaning is either modified or totally changed” (Benjamin 24). Art evolves with time and technology, causing a shift in value and function. This evolution of art reinforces the reciprocal relationship between art and society and, furthermore, art’s ability to modify the way in which we view the
...brese’s St John was executed half a century after The Entombment, it is evident that Caravaggio heavily influenced its creation.
The word "homosexual" seems to have come into the English language around 1869, introduced by a Hungarian named Benkert but not generally used by the British until the 1880s. Yet, according to Theo Aronson, there were other words used at that time to identify the love between the same gender. "Homogenic love," "similisexualism," and "Uranism" were apparently among the more common references to homosexuality.
Among the greatest writers of all time, the name William Shakespeare appears almost universally around the world. Shakespeare is not only an important part of British identity, but also serves as an important part of American identity. His plays have been analyzed, performed, and interpreted in countless ways throughout the years and he remains a staple in British and American culture. One of reasons he is so widely studied is that many of his themes are still applicable in today’s society. Among those themes is the issue of sexuality and sexual identity. In many of Shakespeare’s plays, one can see instances of homoeroticism and same sex relationships presented through dialogue, coded language and metaphor, and performance. Some of the strongest
When I saw Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring about five years ago at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., I felt something about the painting that I had never felt before when looking at artwork. I felt as if this girl, this young woman in the painting was real, hiding in the museum behind this canvas. She was in the flesh. Her skin was still dewy from three hundred-something years ago, the light across her face still glowing. She was in the round, her eyes followed mine, she was real. She was about to speak, she was in a moment of thought, she was in reflection. This girl was not crimson red or titanium white, she was flesh. Vermeer caught her, a butterfly in his hand. She was not just recorded on canvas, she was created on canvas. She was caught in a moment of stillness. Vermeer creates moments in his paintings. When viewing them, we step into a private, intimate setting, a story. Always, everything is quiet and calm. I realize now it is no wonder I had such a strong reaction to Vermeer the first time I saw him: he is a stillness seeker.
...both suggested that lighting and the style of chiaroscuro is probably the single most important element of cinematic Expressionism. However Dietrich Scheunemann disagrees claiming that many of the first films to claim to be expressionist pieces are simply not, and no amount of lighting will make them so. Scheunemann criticises the cinematography of the film 'The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari' stating that it is distinctively unimpressive He instead suggests that it is through the curved walls, oblique windows, slanting doors and strange radical patterns on the floor that the film establishes it's nightmarish atmosphere. In light of Schunemann's views on the visual representation of Expressionism, I hope to analyse the impact Expressionism had on other genres and how contemporary filmmaker Tim Burton has evolved these visual techniques to relate to a modern day audience.
A couple of times throughout my life I heard that art will speak to you even though it doesn’t talk. Not having a real knowledgeable understanding of art or being a big appreciator of it, Berthold Woltze’s ‘The Irritating Gentleman’ (1874) is an oil painting that depicts realism that really draws me into everything in the painting because of the attention to detail he put into it. This particular work is the first time that anything in the art category has made me feel a special way about it and it truly does speak to me.
Capitalism was still prevalent which allowed for patrons to build even larger art collections. This allowed for Caravaggio to be even more selective with his subject matter and style. In the Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Oil on Canvas, c. 1599-1600 the painting was not lit uniformly but in patches. The paintings details were struck by bright and intense light alternating with areas of dark shadows. The figures were disheveled and plain. There were figures counting money that ignored the presence of Jesus in the room. A far cry from the idolization of Christ in most High Renaissance paintings. Caravaggio proved to be master of oil paints similar to Jan van Eyck minute