Imagine scenes of a young woman in ecstasy, a wife about to hit
her husband with a bottle, or a daughter stealing from her dying
father.
While these are usually in the purview of soap operas, 18th
century French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze used those same images
to create timeless masterpieces.
The J. Paul Getty Museum is currently highlighting the work of
Greuze through a collection that includes paintings such as
“Head of a Woman,” a work which shows the candid style
and dramatic subtext the artist brings to his work.
Accompanying the exhibit and in collaboration with the UCLA Film
and Television Archive, the Getty Museum also presents “The
Magnificent Melodrama,” a series of films directed by D.W.
Griffith and Douglas Sirk which closely reflects the themes
expressed in Greuze’s work. The series begins tonight with
Griffith’s “Broken Blossoms” at the Harold M.
Williams Auditorium.
According to Lee Hendrix, curator of drawings at the Getty
Museum, Greuze was most famous for his ability to capture the drama
of normal family life, a facet of society that had been largely
ignored. Prior to Greuze’s work, most of the paintings in
France consisted only of the nobility or historical and religious
figures.
In addition, Greuze has also been seen as one of the first who
used his paintings in the context of a narrative, consisting of a
story for all of his characters.
“A storyline is being carried through in a whole series of
paintings,” Lee said. “Greuze’s ability to
capture emotion, his ability to capture amazing nuances of facial
expression and exchanges of emotion among characters are probably
the most amazing aspect of Greuze’s work.”
Although Greuze’s work was created a hundred years before
any motion picture camera was invented, it’s easy to draw the
relation between his art and the emotional expression seen in many
films.
“The first thing that came to my mind was Sirk, simply
because Greuze’s work is so melodramatic ““ it almost
reads like a narrative when you look at his paintings,” said
Andrea Alsberg, co-head of public programming at the archive.
The two filmmakers focus heavily on human emotion and extreme
facial close-ups, techniques developed by Greuze. While Greuze,
Sirk and Griffith are seen as melodramatic, Lee is quick to point
out that as times have changed, perceptions have changed as
well.
“I think that every generation has its own definition of
what’s naturalistic, what’s real, and what resonates to
them,” Lee said. “It’s funny how what’s
naturalistic to generations of the past becomes stilted to present
generations. We look back on James Dean and we think, “˜Oh,
this is melodramatic and it’s not real,’ but now,
“˜American Beauty’ is real.”
American life is constantly in flux, and films provide a chance
to show this transformation.
“I think that every generation has art that speaks to
them,” Lee said. “In many ways, film is the art form of
our time. What speaks to us in films is seeing our own lives
illuminated ““ it has a history and it begins
somewhere.”
Seating reservations for the screenings are required, as rush
seating will only be on a first-come, first-served basis. For
reservations and more information, call (310) 440-7300 or visit
www.getty.edu.