"Please refrain from going out.”This has been a common phrase inthe news for the past few months. Therefore, there are probably many Chung-Ang University students who cannot help but cancel their tickets for the theater or exhibitions that they had reserved in advance. What a pity it is! Therefore, CAH is going to introduce an art museum that can be enjoyed from inside yourhouse. There is no need for a guide. Sitting comfortably on your sofa and watching thismovie you’ll learn stories about works ofart!

           The film is about a painting of the same name, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring’. This painting, which is familiar to us, is the work of Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. As the most famous of his works, the girl's mysterious expression and mood attracts us. The pearl earrings she is wearing is just the icing on the cake. The pearl earrings were not simply shaded, but rather used the ‘pointillés’ technique. He put the small dots lightly so that the object is portrayed as melting into the light. Thanks to this, the whole painting becomes harmonious. It is a masterpiece that really fits the comment“a painting with a pearl in it”.

           The film is based on the novel ‘The Pearl Earring Girl’ by American novelist Tracy Chevalier. The mood of painting ‘Girl with Pearl Earrings’ itself is mysterious, but it’s history is also mysterious.Thisis because there is no telling exactly who the girl is. Especially when you look at her shabby clothes contrasted with her beautiful earrings, it’s easy tostimulate your imagination. That’s how a girl named ‘Griet' appeared. In the film, Griet work as Vermeer's maid to make money for her family on behalf of his blind father. Vermeer discovers Griet’s artistic talent and teaches her how to mix paints. Slowly, Griet becomes Vermeer's muse, and the movie portrays their relationship as mysteriously as the girl’s smile in the painting.

           The color played a role in the mysterious and beautiful mood of the movie. The color of each scene was similar to that of Vermeer's painting, as if we borrowed his eyes and looked at the 17^th century Netherlands. Also, as background of the movie look similar to his paintings ‘View of Delft’ and ‘The Little Street’, it feelslike we were really in his paintings. Meanwhile, there are several pictures of his in the movie besides ‘Girl with Pearl Earrings.’ For example, you can see various works such as ‘Woman with a Pearl Necklace’ when Griet first met Vermeer while cleaning his studio, or ‘Woman with a Water Jug,’ which is inspired by the scene of Griet cleaning the window.

 

           Vincent van Gogh is apainter the world loves. ‘Loving Vincent’ is a phrase in a letter that Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. The last phrase of numerous letters he wrote to his brother became the title of the film. The movie begins with Van Gogh's last letter. A year after Van Gogh’s death, Armand is asked by his father, who loved Van Gogh's paintings, to deliver his last letter to his brother, Theo. It is because his father finds his son’sdeath suspicious. Like others, Armand thought of Vincent only as a lunatic who cut his ear off, but he reluctantly heads for Paris. Once there, Armand hears that Theo, the recipient of the letter, died six months after Vincent, and instead visits Dr. Gachet, who is said to have kept close company with Vincent. Throughout the journey, Armand is getting to know his brotherby listening to the people's stories about him and begins to doubt the stories of his death.

           Vincent van Gogh attemptedto commit the suicide with a pistol on July 26^th in 1980 but failed. A few days later, he eventually died at the Ravoux Inn. Produced with cinematic imagination ofhis death, ‘Loving Vincent’ tells the story of Armand, who has doubts about his brother’s suicide. In the latter half, however, the movie talks more about his true life than the truth about his suicide, like Marguerite's line, "You want to know so much about his death. But what do you know about his life?"

           Even the way the movie showed Van Gogh's life was like Van Gogh himself. 'Loving Vincent' is an emulsified animation that has been produced over the course of 10 years. The 107 artists trained in colors and brush strokes that Vincent used to use frequently painted a total of 62,450 paintings. Vincent's unique style of painting, which melted inside of the movie, was admirable. For example, like the ring around the moon in 'Starry Night,' the light of the lamp in the movie is also painted in a similar style. This craftsmanship most artistically captured Vincent van Gogh on the screen. In addition, the film is full of Vincent van Gogh's masterpieces. Landscapes such as ‘The Starry Night,’ ‘The Yellow House,’ and ‘Café Terrace at Night’ are used as backdrops to attract us. Moreover, characters telling Armand stories about Van Gogh in the movie are based on Vincent's model in his painting. In the end, the audience looks at Vincent van Gogh's life through his paintings. Isn't this the most artistic way to pay tribute to Vincent van Gogh?

 

Many recent exhibitions have suggested new ways to appreciate art works. Rather than simply hanging a picture on a frame and enjoying it, people can enjoy themwith music, or feel dynamic by viewingimages of their works on a large screen. Then, why don't you enjoy apainting through amovie these days? Maybe it will give you a different perspective of the masterpieces!

 

Director:Peter Webber

Cinematography: Eduardo Serra

Release Date: 2004.09.03 (Korea)

 

Director: Dorota Kobiela, Hugh Welchman

Release Date: 2017.11.09 (Korea)