The Stories about Art Films: 4. Moulin Rouge (1952), ACJ Movie Academy

Basic Info

Title: Moulin Rouge

Genre: Drama

Country: United Kingdom

Language: English

Production Company: Romulus Films

Distributed by: United Artists (US), British Lion Films (UK)

Running time: 119 minutes

Release date: 23 December 1952 (United States)

Staff

Director: John Huston

Producer: John Woolf, James Woolf

Based on: 1950 novel, Pierre La Mure

Screenplay: John Huston, Anthony Veiller

Music: Georges Auric, William Engvick

Cinematography: Oswald Morris

Editor: Ralph Kemplen

Cast

José Ferrer (Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec)

Zsa Zsa Gabor (Jane Avril)

Suzanne Flon (Myriamme Hyam)

Katherine Kath (La Goulue)

Muriel Smith (Aicha)

Colette Marchand (Marie Charlet)

Christopher Lee (Georges Seurat)

Summary

Moulin Rouge is a 1952 British drama film directed by John Huston, produced by Romulus Films Company, and distributed by United Artists. The film is set in Paris in the late 19th century, following the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in the bohemian culture in and around the Moulin Rouge, a landmark of the burlesque shows. The screenplay is written by John Huston based on the 1950 novel by Pierre La Mure, and the cinematography was by Oswald Morris. The film was screened at the 14th Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Lion award.

Movie Review

“Beautiful, engrossing drama”

“John Huston's greatest”

“A painter's pain”

“A man who proved that size does not make a giant”

“Real life story of a famous artist”

“A genuine masterpiece”

“A romanticized version of Toulouse Lautrec's life and art”

Interesting stories about the film

1. José Ferrer transformed into the short artist Toulouse-Lautrec using camera angles, makeup, costume, hidden pits and platforms. Ferrer also used a set of special knee pads that he designed himself, which he could walk with his knees with his lower legs strapped to his upper body.

2. Much of the filming and some of the costumes and character makeup were made similar to the poster art drawn by Henri de Toulouse Lautrec.

3. John Huston was almost killed by a man during one night, when he brought Suzanne Flon back to her apartment. The man was a friend of Flon, who was filled with jealousy.

4. John Huston was disgusted by the French individualism during filming in Paris streets.

5. Jane Avril was not a singer, but a dancer.

Thank you.

Movie Trailer

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

Interesting Art Stories: 9. Whistler's Mother, James McNeill Whistler, ACJ Art Academy

How are you?

On every Thursday, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 9th story for this week is "Whistler's Mother" by an American painter, James McNeill Whistler.

Portrait of the Painter

Best known as “Whistler's Mother”, “Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1” is an oil painting on canvas by American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. It is one of the most famous paintings by American artists outside the United States. The model in this painting, which measures 1,443 mm × 1,624 mm, is Whistler's mother, “Anna McNeill Whistler,” and the frame was designed by Whistler himself. Currently, the painting is owned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France, after having been bought by the French government in 1891. It has been also called as “an American icon" or "a Victorian Mona Lisa".

Anna Whistler

Anna Whistler became the model for this painting while living with her son at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea in London, England. It cannot be verified, but there are some anecdotes about this painting. One of them is that Anna Whistler was modeled as a replacement for another model her son couldn't make the appointment. Another one is that Whistler originally tried to draw the model standing up, but because his mother's health was not good, it was impossible to pose standing for a long time, hence he drew the painting of a sitting position.

This painting was exhibited at the 104th Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art in London in 1872. Although Whistler's etching work, “Old Putney Bridge” was exhibited in the exhibition in 1879, it was the last painting he submitted for the Academy's approval for the exhibition. 

Old Putney Bridge, James McNeill Whistler (1879)

Visitors in the Victorian era would not accept a portrait being displayed under the title "arrangement", hence the subtitle "Portrait of the Painter's mother" was added to the painting, and it was later simply called "Whistler's Mother". After seeing the painting, Thomas Carlyle, an English historian, agreed to become a model for another painting of a composition similar to this painting, titled “Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2”. Therefore, the previous painting, "Whistler's Mother" automatically got the title of "Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1".

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 2 (Thomas Carlyle), (1872-73)

Whistler's works, including this one, had attracted many imitators, especially many similar paintings were drawn by American expatriate painters. The painting displayed in a major museum also helped Whistler to attract wealthy patrons. The image in this painting has been used as an icon for “motherhood”, “affection for parents”, and "family values", especially in the United States since the Victorian era. As an example, in 1934, in the United States, a stamp was issued bearing the slogan "In memory and in honor of the mothers of America" with the portrait detail from "Whistler's Mother". In the borough of Ashland, Pennsylvania, an 8-foot-high statue based on the painting was built as a tribute to mothers by the Ashland Boys' Association in 1938, during the Great Depression.

U.S. postage stamp (1934)

Mothers' Memorial, Ashland, Pennsylvania

Author Martha Tedeschi stated the influence of the painting as follows:

“Whistler's Mother, Wood's American Gothic, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch's The Scream have all achieved something that most paintings, regardless of their art historical importance, beauty, or monetary value, have not. These few works have successfully made the transition from the elite realm of the museum visitor to the enormous venue of popular culture”.

American Gothic, Grant Wood (1930)

Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1503–1506)

The Scream, Edvard Munch (1893)

“Whistler's Mother” had a profound influence on French composer Claude Debussy. In 1894, Debussy wrote to violinist Eugène Ysaÿe about his "Nocturnes," as "an experiment in the different combinations that can be obtained from one color – what a study in grey would be in painting”.

Claude Debussy

Thank you.

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

COMPOSER OF THE WEEK: 8. Pyotr Tchaikovsky

Born: May 7, 1840; Votkinsk, Russia

Died: November 6, 1893; Saint Petersburg, Russia

Nationality: Russia

Pyotr Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic period, born on May 7, 1840, and died on November 6, 1893. Tchaikovsky, who showed great musical talent as a child, entered the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. However, the Western-oriented music education received there resulted in him away from the nationalist music embodied by the Russian composers of The Five.

Tchaikovsky's birthplace in Votkinsk, now a museum

He achieved many successes, but suffered personal crises and depression throughout his life. The important factors that influenced his such life were his early separation from his mother to attend boarding school, his mother's early death, the death of his close friend and colleague, Nikolai Rubinstein, and the conflict with the wealthy widow, Nadezhda von Meck who was his patron, and his homosexuality.

Tchaikovsky as a student at the Moscow Conservatory (1863)

Tchaikovsky died in Saint Petersburg at the age of 53 on November 6, 1893, nine days after the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, the Pathétique. He was interred in Tikhvin Cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, near the graves of fellow-composers Alexander Borodin, Mikhail Glinka, and Modest Mussorgsky. The official cause of his death was cholera, which was believed to have been infected by drinking contaminated water a few days before his death, but many questions were raised about this diagnosis. These questions include that a famous restaurant that was operating under strict health care regulations, in the midst of a cholera epidemic, gave Tchaikovsky an unboiled water, and the timeline, when he drank the water and cholera symptom appeared. 

Anton (right) and Nikolai Rubinstein

Nadezhda von Meck

At the time, cholera attacked people of all levels of Russian society, but the disease was considered a disease of the lower classes. Therefore, the announcement that a famous person such as Tchaikovsky died of cholera caused great confusion in society. In addition, the accuracy of the medical reports of the two doctors who had treated Tchaikovsky was also questioned, and his corpse was also found not to have been processed according to official regulations dealing with victims who died of cholera. It has been mentioned by many, including the autobiography of composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, but in some sources it has been censored and deleted.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's grave

After that, the theory that Tchaikovsky's death was a suicide began to emerge. From his family to composer Alexander Glazunov, many people have made various postulations, including from his reckless act to the order from Tsar Alexander III of Russia. Then, since 1979, a grounded suicide theory was added. It was that his college alumni criticized Tchaikovsky's homosexuality and sentenced him to suicide in court. 

Tsar Alexander III

Nonetheless, the cause of Tchaikovsky's death remains highly controversial and may not actually be resolved.

Thank you.

Statue of Tchaikovsky in Simferopol, Crimea

Famous Works

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

The Stories about Music Films: 5. Immortal Beloved (1994)

Basic Info

Title: Immortal Beloved

Genre: Romance/Melodrama

Country: United Kingdom, United States

Language: English, Hungarian

Production Company: Icon Productions

Distributed by: Columbia Pictures

Running time: 121 minutes

Release date: December 16, 1994

Staff

Director: Bernard Rose

Producer: Stephen McEveety, Bruce Davey

Written by: Bernard Rose

Music: George Fenton, Ludwig van Beethoven, Gioacchino Rossini

Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky

Editor: Dan Rae

Cast

Gary Oldman (Ludwig van Beethoven)

Jeroen Krabbé (Anton Felix Schindler)

Isabella Rossellini (Anna-Marie Erdödy)

Johanna ter Steege (Johanna Reiss)

Christopher Fulford (Kaspar van Beethoven)

Marco Hofschneider (Karl van Beethoven)

Barry Humphries (Clemens Metternich)

Valeria Golino (Giulietta Guicciardi)

Geno Lechner (Josephine von Brunsvik)

Claudia Solti (Theresa von Brunsvik)

Summary

“Immortal Beloved” is a 1994 film about the life of composer Ludwig van Beethoven. After Beethoven's death in 1827, three letters were found in his private documents addressed to a woman whom he called "immortal beloved". The film follows Beethoven's secretary and first biographer Anton Schindler, who tries to find the true identity of "Immortal Beloved". Schindler travels throughout the Austria, interviewing women who might be potential candidates.

Written in the summer of 1812 in the spa town of Teplice, the letter has generated a lot of speculation and controversy for her identity among scholars and writers. Among the candidates are Giulietta Guicciardi, Thérèse von Brunswick, Josephine Brunsvik, Antonie Brentano, and Anna-Marie Erdödy, some of whom are appeared in the film.

The film's writer and director, Bernard Rose, though not a historian, claimed that he had identified Beethoven's Immortal Beloved as his sister-in-law Johanna van Beethoven. The film also suggests that Beethoven's nephew Karl is actually the son of Beethoven and Johanna.

Movie Review

“Yet Another Mis-Interpreted Wonderful Film...”

“Oldman Brings Beethoven to Life”

“Underrated masterpiece”

“Mysterious Beethoven biopic”

“Immortal Beethoven”

“Absolutely lovely”

“A Most Beautiful, and Under-rated Film”

“Stunning, Brilliant”

“Great Soundtrack and Cinematography”

Interesting stories about the film

1. Gary Oldman actually played himself all of Beethoven's works in the film. However, in the official soundtrack, a different musician played. Oldman spent six weeks practicing the piano at the hotel for six hours a day when he learned that he was going to play Beethoven, and was completely immersed in his music as a study of Beethoven.

2. Schindler was Beethoven's secretary for a while, but not his friend.

3. Gary Oldman appeared in the movie "Léon (1994)", acting a character obsessed with Beethoven.

4. The words that Beethoven spoke to Schindler during their first meeting in the rehearsal of Kreutzer Sonata were taken from Tolstoy's novel "The Kreutzer Sonata."

5. Beethoven was described as a misogynist because he had very few intimate relationships with women in real life.

6. While filming the funeral scene, the weather was so hot that some extras fainted.

7. Anthony Hopkins was the original choice to play Beethoven.

8. Gary Oldman didn’t say anything for the first 20 minutes of the film.

Thank you.

Movie Trailer

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post

The Introduction of the Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 43. Portrait of a Man with Hat (José Pacheco) (1915)

How are you?

Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.

The 43rd work to introduce for this week is “Portrait of a Man with Hat (José Pacheco)”. This work is a portrait of an expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 65 x 54 cm, and currently in private collection.

José Pacheco (1885-1934) was a Portuguese architect, graphic artist, set designer and painter. Born as a merchant's son, Pacheco showed artistic talent from an early age. After studying architecture at the School of Fine Arts of Lisbon, he entered the School of Architecture in Paris, where served as an assistant professor.

Pacheco left his hometown of Lisbon and moved to Paris in 1910. There he used the studio of Amadeo de Souza Cardoso, who was a painter and his compatriot, in Cite Falguiere. He also continued his studies in architecture and graphic arts in famous academies libres and ateliers. Pacheco, together with Fernando Pessoa, who was close, founded the poetic movement Orfeu, and acted as a member of Futurism that wanted to revolutionize graphic art in Portugal.

However, when his wife died in 1931, Pacheco began to suffer from severe neurasthenia, and then having turned to religion, he sought social isolation. In 1932, Pacheco was admitted to a nursing home but fled there and lived with his mother. Then, he died of tuberculosis in 1934.

He had met Modigliani at the Cite Falguiere, when Modigliani was engrossed in sculpture. The two had a very close friendship and Pacheco organized an exhibition displaying seven sculptures of Modigliani, based on the "temple of beauty" that Modigliani dreamed of realizing. Before the outbreak of World War I, there were many Portuguese artists in Paris, and Pacheco attracted Modigliani by his youthful spirit, rebellious nature and love of poetry.

Hirsch & Adler, who exhibited this work for today in New York in 1972, identified the model as Jose Pacheco. In fact, the data of Pacheco that are owned by the Fondation Gulbenkian in Lisbon, Portugal, which was founded by an entrepreneur, Calouste Gulbenkian, shows a striking resemblance.

O Arquitecto Jose Pacheco, Mario Eloy (1925), Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Portugal

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal

The first thing that stands out in today's work is the model's ears, feeling like they are separately glued together, painted with a slightly different color from the face. And from his hat, scarf, and suit, he seems like a very stylish person. It also seems that he had a very nervous and rebellious personality from his thin face, angled facial line and nose.

From the composition aspect, the face, the mouth, and the nose tilted to the left, are balanced with the hat tilted to the right for overall composition balancing.

And the shirt on the inside is treated with the same color as the background, giving the impression that the face and clothes are floating in the air.

Thank you.

Lecture Program List

YouTube

Korean Blog

Naver TV

Naver Post