Eugene Delacroix: The Restless Eye | Paul Cezzane: The Man and the Mountain
April 17, 2003 | 6.30 pm
Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai
Eugene Delacroix
The Restless Eye (Col. 60 mins)
Eugene Delacroix was a prominent artist of the French Romantic Movement. A true Romantic, he approached his subjects with a startling boldness, electrifying them with the brilliance of his colours, seeking truth to nature in the free play of his imagination and emotions. Delacroix’s writings show him to have been deeply thoughtful about the theories of art, searching for intellectual solutions that would reveal his vision on canvas. The artist’s own journal gives us insights into his life- as an artist and human-being-his interpersonal relationships and struggles to overcome the scepticism of critics and society. His journal, treasured today for both its style and content, is the creative core of this film, giving us rare glimpses of his childhood drawings along with a fresh look at his masterpieces.
Paul Cezzane
The Man and the Mountain (Col. 65 mins)
Paul Cezzane developed a new way to paint the natural world, seeking the essential elements of nature’s geometry and called his paintings “constructions after nature”. He modulated form with colour. This portrait of Cezzane revolves around the central theme of his painting: his fascination with nature and his love-hate relationship with his birthplace, Aix-en-Provence, most specifically the nearby mountain, Sainte Victoire, which he painted repeatedly throughout his life. Richly illustrated with his paintings and with views of the countryside. The story opens with the artist at the age of 67, at odds with both peers and critics, and traces Cezzane’s career to his final recognition as the “father of modern painting”.