BALTHUS THE PAINTER

“A FASCINATING FILM, FULL OF UNNERVINGLY BEAUTIFUL IMAGES”

-Daily Telegraph

After seeking access for nearly 10 years, Mark and his producer Emma gained access to a painter who had always been reluctant to expose his mystery. The film explores the eroticism and latent violence of his paintings, as well as his masterly treatment of landscape and flowers. The myth of paedophilia that has hung like a shadow over his life and work is blown apart by testimony from artists and art historians, as well as by one of his former child models. Balthus is revealed to be an original, whose life and work have been driven by matters much deeper than shock value or sex.

CREDITS

Written and Directed by  Mark Kidel

Camera by Alistair Cameron

Edited by  Jo-AnnKaplan

Produced by Emma Crichton-Miller

Rosetta Pictures for BBC Omnibus

1996

Running time: 60 mins

“BEAUTIFUL AND DREAMY”

- The Sunday Telegraph