It’s striking how often we forget that painters mastered the language of spectacle long before film existed. Modern cinema feels less like a revolution and more like a continuation of their way of seeing.
Is this you, The Culturalist, holding the paintings? Always nice to see the faces of the creators behind the scenes. Really enjoy your thoughts and writing.
In order to paint his masterpiece, Friedland, a rendering of one of Napoleon's great victories, Ernest Meissonier built a small railroad around his estate in Poissy. He was obsessed with realism and wanted to know if a galloping horse's hooves left the ground all at the same time or if one or more always remained in contact with the earth. He rode in the railway car making sketches while horses galloped alongside to answer the question. Something that could easily be answered today with a high-speed camera.
See Ross King's excellent "The Judgment of Paris" for the full story.
I learned in communication arts that the plot curve is the way humans perceive things. You can find great plots not only in novels, but all writing, in painting, in film and in photography. We respond to dynamic plots in all of our perception modes.
Even after photography was invented, artists decided to keep painting realistic, even cinematic paintings. I don't get why most artists later abandoned this to paint abstract figures.
Absolutely brilliant paintings! What's really remarkable about this stuff is how it truly puts the lie to the idea that beauty is inherently subjective. If you aren't impressed, if you can't acknowledge that these paintings are beautiful, it is YOU who are wrong.
It’s striking how often we forget that painters mastered the language of spectacle long before film existed. Modern cinema feels less like a revolution and more like a continuation of their way of seeing.
Is this you, The Culturalist, holding the paintings? Always nice to see the faces of the creators behind the scenes. Really enjoy your thoughts and writing.
Not me, but my good friend Mack!
No movie can hold a candle to those minute details.
In order to paint his masterpiece, Friedland, a rendering of one of Napoleon's great victories, Ernest Meissonier built a small railroad around his estate in Poissy. He was obsessed with realism and wanted to know if a galloping horse's hooves left the ground all at the same time or if one or more always remained in contact with the earth. He rode in the railway car making sketches while horses galloped alongside to answer the question. Something that could easily be answered today with a high-speed camera.
See Ross King's excellent "The Judgment of Paris" for the full story.
It’s impossible for me to not love good oil paintings.
Amazing read 👏🏼
Beautiful and charming reading.
I loved that you pointed out that "no modern movie maker would claim not to be inspired by the visionary artists that preceded them."
I remember finding out how many movies were inspired by Edward Hopper's works, and it suddenly shifted the way I watched and appreciated movies.
This is reminding me I'd like a pair of opera glasses.
Despite having never attended an opera. Terrible, I know.
I would like to attend an opera. If that helps.
I learned in communication arts that the plot curve is the way humans perceive things. You can find great plots not only in novels, but all writing, in painting, in film and in photography. We respond to dynamic plots in all of our perception modes.
Even after photography was invented, artists decided to keep painting realistic, even cinematic paintings. I don't get why most artists later abandoned this to paint abstract figures.
Richelieu insane aura
Its time to make movies into paintings... I would start with Eyes Wide Shut
Absolutely brilliant paintings! What's really remarkable about this stuff is how it truly puts the lie to the idea that beauty is inherently subjective. If you aren't impressed, if you can't acknowledge that these paintings are beautiful, it is YOU who are wrong.