Sunday 28 August 2011

Nightwatching - Truth in Painting

Like I've mentioned before I do not believe that movies could ever picture the historical facts, nor do I believe that it was predominantly intented in Nightwatching. To me the whole plot tells a story
 that might have been approximately like this or not.








Yet this does not imply that the movie is not telling the truth about its subject, ie Rembrandt and the story of the creation of a work of art. To me the historical murder story is just a subplot, a parergon, that enables Greenaway to discuss deeper relationships, eg between life and art or sexual desire and art or art and the art market, art and money. Maybe even down to the question if the artist is only just a craftsman and that he sometimes lacks intellectual capacities.
 Some of the really telling scenes are the opening scene, the scene when Rembrandt is asked to show his hands, and the ones  that touched me personally the most Saskia's death and the mating with Hendrikje, there is a feeling of apotheosis to this one, very delicate and very beautiful indeed.

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