The Mystery of Picasso (1956)
(Le mystére Picasso, Henri-Georges Clouzot, France 1956, 78 min., 35mm, French w/English subtitles)
How does one capture art, and the creation of art, with another art form? Henri-Georges Clouzot, director of Diabolique and The Wages of Fear, attempted to do so when he turned his camera in the direction of Pablo Picasso and created a classic romanticized portrait of the artistic process. Setting up behind Picasso’s canvas and using a translucent surface, Picasso’s brush strokes come to life as he creates, making the audience the substrate which he transforms. Clouzot uses many techniques in capturing the images, filming in time-lapse, transitioning from black-and-white to color as Picasso does, and even expanding the screen via Cinemascope to capture the large canvas. Throughout the film, Picasso creates twenty new works, most of which were destroyed after filming, leaving this film the only way to access them. In 1984, the French government declared the film a national treasure.