Pablo Picasso (1881-1973): A Spanish Artist

The Mystery of Picasso is the English title of a French documentary film that premiered in 1956. The French title is Le Mystere Picasso. It was released on DVD in 2003. Here is some basic information about it:

** Produced and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot (1907-1977)

** Camerawork by Claude Renoir (1913-1993)

** Musical score by George Auric (1889-1983)

** Run time: 1 hour and 14 minutes

In this film about Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) we get to see the famous Spanish artist at work. How did this happen? Picasso allowed the director and his team to enter his studio and shoot a film while he was working on a number of paintings.

A special canvas was created for this project: while Picasso was working on one side of the canvas, a camera was recording every stroke of the brush from the other side of the canvas.

At first the paintings are only in black-and-white. But later Picasso also uses colours. Sometimes the brush is moving on the canvas: it is like a movie. Other times we go step by step: it is like a slide show.

The process is highly compressed. What takes just two minutes in the film, took maybe two hours in real life.

In this film we get to see the creation of some 20 original works by Picasso. Many motives are used. Several paintings are about bull fighting, which is a popular event in Spain and the south of France. Most of the works that were made for this film were later destroyed. Today these paintings only exist in the film that was made in 1956.

Most of the time we see only the canvas on which the artist is working. But there are a few variations. There is a moment when we see Picasso himself while he is working on a painting. There is another moment when we see the director and his team discussing a technical aspect of the film. Towards the end of the film there is a moment when Picasso talks about the painting he has just completed. He is not happy about it. He wants to try the same motive one more time.

The dialogue is in French covered by English subtitles, but apart from a brief introduction, few words are spoken during the film. It is all about the paintings. And there is no need to talk about them.

The music plays an important role. For each painting there is a piece of music. The man in charge of the musical score, George Auric, tried to capture the mood and the atmosphere of each painting. That is why there are several types of music in this film.

When the film was shown in theatres in 1956, it was not a big hit with the public, but it won the Special Jury Prize at the 1956 Cannes Film festival. Many critics like it: on IMDB it has a rating of 79 per cent; and on Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 83 per cent. Both ratings correspond to four stars on Amazon.

I have mixed feelings about this film: on the positive side I will say that it is an interesting and captivating film which offers a unique chance to see this famous artist at work. On the negative side I will say that there are too many examples here. The first examples are fine, but after a while it tends to get a bit boring. Too much of the same.

If you ask me, the positive points are just as strong as the negative points. And therefore I think this film deserves a rating of three stars.

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 The French poster for the film

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A clip from the film: Picasso at work

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 Another clip from the film: Picasso and the film crew

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Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920): An Italian Artist

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920): The Poetry of Seeing by Doris Krystof was first published in 1996. Since then it has been reprinted several times. This review is based on a hardcover version from 2015.

The author Doris Krystof studied history and history of art in Freiburg im Breisgau and Cologne. Since 2001 she has been curator at a German art collection: K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. She is the author of several publications about modern art.

This biography of Amedeo Modigliani is a volume in a series about famous artists published by the German publisher Taschen. So far, there are 29 volumes in this series. A related series covers different types of art. There are nine volumes in this series. A second related series covers architecture. There are eight volumes in this series.

While the book is published by a German publisher, there is no need to worry about the language, because everything in it is in English.

The main text is divided into five chapters which follow a chronological line from 1884 when Modigliani was born until 1920 when he passed away, only 35 years old. At the end of the book there is a timeline, which covers his life and work. There is no bibliography. There is no index.

What about illustrations? The book is illustrated throughout. All paintings are in colour, unless the original happens to be a drawing in black-and-white. Almost every painting by Modigliani mentioned in the text is shown in the book; in most cases, text and illustration are not too far from to each other, which is reader-friendly.

Some illustrations are photos. Because they were taken long ago, they are in black-and-white. We cannot complain about that.

PART ONE
This biography of Amedeo Modigliani covers his life and his career. Obviously, there is a strong focus on his work as an artist. His short life can be divided into two sections:

** Section one (1884-1906). He lived in Italy. This is where he was born and where he studied to become an artist.

** Section two (1906-1920). He lived and worked as an artist in France.

At first he lived in Paris. This is where the avant-garde was. In the spring of 1918 he moved to the south of France in order to avoid the war. He stayed there for about a year. In 1919 he returned to Paris. He was suffering from poor health. In 1920 he died from a combination of tuberculosis and meningitis.

His work as an artist can be divided into three sections. From 1906 to 1909 he focused on painting. From 1909 to 1914 he focused on sculpture. From 1914 until his death in 1920 he focused on painting once more.

While he was alive, some of his works were shown at exhibitions and some of them were sold, but he never made much money from his work. While he was alive, he only had one solo exhibition and it did not last long. It was in Paris in December 1917. It was closed down by the police on the day it opened, because it was claimed that his paintings - a series of nude studies - were offensive.

PART TWO
Doris Krystof has written an excellent biography which covers Modigliani's life and career in great detail. Most importantly, the author shows why Modigliani is so special; why he is recognised as an artist of international standing.

As Doris Krystof explains, Modigliani had several sources of inspiration. The first source: artists who were dead. He studied the paintings of the Renaissance while he was still in Italy. The second source: artists who were living in Paris while he was there. This was the avant-garde. The most famous of them was Pablo Picasso. The third source: African art, which was becoming more known in Europe in the beginning of the 20th century. Modigliani did not simply copy these sources. They were an inspiration for him. Based on these sources he developed his own style which is different from that of other artists.

I like this book, and I want to give it a warm recommendation, but I have a few minor quibbles. Let me explain:

# 1. On page 62 we have the picture that is called the nude Elvira. According to the caption on page 63, this painting is from 1918. But when this painting is mentioned in the text on page 70, the author claims it is from 1919. As far as I know, the information offered in the caption is correct. It is from 1918.

# 2. On page 82 there are two illustrations. The larger one is a painting by Modigliani, known as the Zouave from 1918. The smaller one is a painting by Vincent van Gogh: a portrait of Mittiet, a Second Lieutenant with the Zouaves from 1888. It is interesting to compare the two paintings. But the comparison is never made in the text. I do not know why. Perhaps the author wanted to add a paragraph about these two paintings, but then she forgot about it. Or perhaps this paragraph was written and later deleted (during editing).

The comparison with Vincent van Gogh is obvious. There are some similarities. Both artists were poor and very eccentric. After they died, both of them became very famous. However, there are also significant differences. Vincent did not have many social skills. He could not get along with other people. By contrast, Modigliani had no problem getting along with other people. Vincent committed suicide (this is at least what most scholars believe), while Modigliani died because of his poor health.

# 3. It is well-known that Modigliani was using drugs and alcohol. He was often in poor shape. The author never tries to explain why he did this. One possible explanation is that he did this in order to hide the fact that he was suffering from tuberculosis. This disease was deadly and it was contagious. Most people tried to avoid contact with a person who had this disease. If Modigliani had told the people around him that he suffered from this disease, it would have been difficult for him to make any friends. Most people would have avoided him.

CONCLUSION
As stated above, these remarks are minor quibbles. I mention them here, because they deserve to be mentioned, for the record, but I will not allow them to disturb my overall impression of the book. Regardless of these minor quibbles I still think this is an excellent biography and I want to give it a strong recommendation.

PS # 1. For more information about Modigliani, see the following book: Modigliani: A Life by Meryle Secrest (2011).

PS # 2. There is an American movie about Modigliani, a dramatized version of his life, from 2004, with Andy Garcia in the leading role. It was released on DVD in 2009. The title is Modigliani.

PS # 3. For information about Vincent van Gogh, see the following book: Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings (Taschen, 2012).

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Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)

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