The world of cinema and art are often intertwined and allow us to enjoy incredible films full of history and world-famous pieces or objects of art. Many times directors use art in their films to support the story, especially when a particular period of time is being represented.
We’ll start with the film Woman in Gold, directed by Simon Curtis, which features the superb performances of Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds. The film is based on the true story of a Jewish woman named Maria Altmann, who escapes from Vienna during World War II and returns sixty years later to reclaim the property the Nazis confiscated from her family. Among these properties is the famous "portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" by Gustav Klimt. From that point on, and in order to achieve her goal, she is helped by a lawyer advises her in the trial against the Austrian government and the Supreme Court of the United States.
It took Klimt three years to create this 13.8 x 13.8m oil and gold painting on canvas and he finished it in 1907. The painting was on the walls of the Belvedere Museum in Vienna for sixty years and became an icon for Austrians. However, it remained a mystery who the "Golden Lady" was, as the museum's nameplate stated. Years later it became known that she was Adeleb Bloch-Bauer - or the Mona Lisa of Austria, as she is also often called - one of the most beautiful women in Danish high society, whose identity had been erased during the Nazi invasion in 1938. Who gave her visibility? Her niece, Maria Altmann, at the beginning of one of the most famous trials in history. According to news reports, once Altmann won the trial and recovered this and other works, she sold it in 2007 to the owner of the Neue Galerie in New York for $135 million.
Another example where art is the basis of the film comes from director Julian Schnabel who portrays part of the life of the famous painter Van Gogh when he lived in Arles, Paris and Auvers-sur-Oise in France in the film At Eternity’s Gate. Willem Dafoe, nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe as best actor for his outstanding performance as the painter, is in charge of immersing us in this wonderful journey.
Van Gogh was not an artist who simply painted the object or person in front of him, but he painted the experience, the moment shared with that other. This is why we see him during a large part of the film with his bench, canvas and paintings, sitting quietly observing everything around him and painting different landscapes. "The essence of nature is beauty," says Dafoe.
At Eternity’s Gate is not only the name of the film, but also the name of one of his works. It was painted in 1890 with oil paint and it measures 81cm x 65cm; the artist finished it two months before his death, while he was having a serious mental health relapse. The painting is currently in the Kröller-Müller Museum, the Netherlands.
Great inspirations, great movies!
