‘The Mystery of Picasso’ or — Every Frame (literally) a Painting.
Ever wondered what the old children’s shows ‘Take Hart’ or ‘Vision On’ would look like if they were shot in Cinemascope? Then Henri-Georges Clouzot’s ‘The Mystery of Picasso’ (1956) is the movie for you!
Clouzot’s film follows Pablo Picasso as he creates a series of paintings on translucent canvas. The intention is to see the process of creative genius in motion. Claude Renoir’s static camera sits behind the canvas and as Picasso paints from the other side so we his art appearing before our eyes.
At first these are relatively simple black-marker works shot in Academy ratio yet, as Picasso takes more risks, colours are introduced then vibrate oil-paints until, near the end, both Picasso and Clouzot desire a larger canvas to work on and so the film expands into Cinemascope. The effect is overwhelming.
Seeing the process of Picasso work like this, improvising on ideas and constantly pushing for something he has never done before, is exhilarating. Forms start simple before being elaborated on, then condensed or expanded before being torn apart or distilled into almost scientifically basic elements. The line of a body is beautifully sketched out only to be shattered or turned around by the mind’s eye and held to every conceivable (and inconceivable) angle. If you’ve always wondered what the fuss about Picasso was all about then this film shows it all explicitly as we see beauty constantly created and transformed. This film is all about process and some of the images that are painted over simply on the way to the final piece are stunning. “When is he going to stop pushing this painting further?” I found myself asking. “How much more daring can he make it and take it?” Turns out further than I could imagine.
Yet this isn’t just about Picasso’s process but also Clouzot’s. So the filmmaker, knowing how to keep an audience enrapt, introduces elements of suspense. So Picasso is portrayed as always working without a wire. Can he get away with this one? A time restraint is introduced at one point. There is only so much film in the camera left. Can Picasso finish another painting before the film runs out?!
Or the wonderful moment, when the colour oil paints are introduced, where Picasso tells Clouzot he wants to take more risks, to push the process even further. But aren’t we taking enough risks already, Clouzot responds as a secondary film crew films his film crew filming Picasso. Clouzot is showing us his process as much as the Picasso’s.
All this is propelled along by a startling score by Georges Auric who is, appropriately, channelling Stravinsky here. When there are sensuous figures being created the music has a ‘Rite of Spring’ primordial energy. Likewise, if it is the sharp angles of cubism appearing then the music shatters into jazzy shards and planes. By the end the soundtrack is exploding with as much colour as the screen.
Even if you’re not interested in art ‘The Mystery of Picasso’ is a remarkably captivating movie. If you are interested in art, or the artistic process, then the film is a mind-blowing revelation.
