''Red Jacket'' is a 1998 documentary film about the life of the world's best-selling artist,

Vladimir Tretchikoff Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff (Владимир Григорьевич Третчиков, , Petropavlovsk, Russian Empire, now Petropavl in Kazakhstan – 26 August 2006, Cape Town, South Africa) was an artist whose painting ''Chinese Girl' ...

. The film was produced by ''Technitronics'' and televised by the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

Synopsis

The documentary charts the life of Tretchikoff, featuring contributions with public figures and Tretchikoff himself. The documentary is titled ''Red Jacket'', Tretchikoff memorably recalled his war-time lover and muse, Lenka, wearing a red jacket when first meeting her. She would later pose as the model in his painting titled ''Red Jacket''.Lady in Green
''Sunday Times''. 22 August 2002

Production

The documentary was researched, produced, and directed by Yvonne du Toit under the auspices of Technitronics. Several of the contributors held a history with Tretchikoff. * Monika Sing-Lee was the subject of '' The Green Lady'', Tretchikoff's most famous painting. Several commentators have stated that her face was just as famous as ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...

''. The painting is also the highest-selling print in history. *

Jani Allan Jani Allan (born 11 September 1952) is a South African journalist, columnist, writer and broadcaster. She became one of the country's first media celebrities in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1980, Allan became a columnist for the centrist newspaper, ...

interviewed Tretchikoff in the 1980s for her regular ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' column "Just Jani" that also included interviews with art figures such as

Walter Battiss Walter Whall Battiss (6 January 1906 – 20 August 1982) was a South African artist, also known as the creator of the "Fook Island" concept. Early life Battiss was born into an English Methodist family in the Karoo town of Somerset Eas ...

. She later published a collection of columns as the book ''

Face Value The face value, sometimes called nominal value, is the value of a coin, bond, stamp or paper money as printed on the coin, stamp or bill itself by the issuing authority. The face value of coins, stamps, or bill is usually its legal value. Howe ...

'' including Tretchikoff's. The background notes she provided revealed that he had insisted she sit for a portrait. Allan was also qualified to speak to the reviewer as she has a background in art. A former art teacher, she graduated with a BA in fine art and an MA history of art from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

. Her former husband,

Gordon Schachat Gordon Schachat (born 25 January 1952) is a South African businessman and art collector. Personal life In 1973 Schachat met his first wife at university, the former '' Sunday Times'' columnist Jani Allan and married her in Mauritius in 1982.

is also a prominent art collector in South Africa.South African market continues to grow
Art info. 10 April 2009 Art critic, Sean O'Toole singled out Allan for her "far more convincing" contributions to the film.Vladimir Tretchikoff at Iziko South African National Gallery
Art Throb. Retrieved on 13 September 2012 *Marilyn Martin is a former director of the

South African National Gallery The Iziko South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. It became part of the Iziko collection of museums – as managed by the Department of Arts and Culture – in 2001. It then became an agenc ...

and considered by some as a detractor. In 2002, the ''

'' reported that the gallery had never acquired works by the man considered by many as the country's leading realist painter. Despite the fact that Tretchikoff has resided in Cape Town for the past 60 years, Martin responded that the gallery had no intention of using the gallery's limited funds in acquiring his works as "he is not really regarded as a South African artist'" nd"the revival of interest in his works would not be sustained." *

Beezy Bailey Beezy Bailey (born 21 July 1962 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South African artist who works in various media, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and ceramics. He has been a full-time artist for 30 years, with over 20 one- ...

, the South African artist, controversial for exhibiting under the pseudonym of a black African woman, says Tretchikoff's ultimate crime was to appeal to the post-war working classes: "In the 1950s the whole class structure n Europe and Americawas as powerful as the apartheid structure in our country. That is why he hasn't been embraced and why he is uncool – his art was not snobby art, it was appreciated by the masses."

Release

The independent production was screened to national audiences on the state broadcaster,

in 1998. Since then it has been distributed for educational purposes by the Western Cape Provincial Library Service who issued a VHS/DVD version. It is commonly used as a resource for art students. The film has since been rebroadcast, most recently on

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African family public television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). SABC 2 broadcasts programming in English, Sepedi, Afrikaans, Venda, and Tsonga. As of August 2018, the channel started broadc ...

on 17 July 2011.''Red Jacket''
SABCTV. Retrieved on 12 September 2012 In 2011, the film was projected in a small antechamber at the

as part of a Tretchikoff exhibition.

References

External links

*{{YouTube, nZFtp0nMupY, Opening scenes
Link to the portrait known as ''Red Jacket''
1998 films 1990s English-language films South African documentary films South African art Documentary films about painters 1998 documentary films