''Visit to Picasso'' ("Bezoek aan Picasso") is a short Belgian documentary film from 1949 about painter

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, directed by Belgian filmmaker

Paul Haesaerts Paul Haesaerts (15 February 1901 – 31 January 1974) was a multi talented Belgian artist. Born as Pauwel Helena Alfons Haesaerts, son of Benjamin Adolf Jan Baptist Haesaerts and Emma Philomena Spillemaeckers. As an artist he worked as an arch ...

. In an effort to capture the nature of

Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

's creative process, Paul Haesaerts asked the Spanish painter to apply his magical brushstrokes to large glass plates as Haesaerts filmed from the other side. This film actually predated the more famous art film ''

The Mystery of Picasso ''The Mystery of Picasso'' (french: Le mystère Picasso) is a 1956 French documentary film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. In it, the painter Pablo Picasso produces 20 drawings and paintings, at first using inks that bleed through the paper on ...

'' (1956) by

Henri-Georges Clouzot Henri-Georges Clouzot (; 20 November 1907 – 12 January 1977) was a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his work in the thriller film genre, having directed ''The Wages of Fear'' and '' Les Diaboliques'', ...

, in which Picasso painted on large transparent canvases as the director filmed from the other side. The filming took place in Picasso's studio in

Vallauris Vallauris (; oc, Valàuria) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It is located in the metropolitan area, and is today effectively an extension of the town of Antibes ...

. In 1951, ''Visit to Picasso'' was nominated for best documentary by the

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

(BAFTA).

Plot

Haesaerts shows opening images of Picasso books, then switches to a series of works by the artist in chronological order. Then the artist paints and sculpts art works.

Sources

External links

* * Documentary films about painters 1949 films Belgian documentary films Pablo Picasso 1949 documentary films Black-and-white documentary films 1940s Dutch-language films Belgian black-and-white films {{Belgium-film-stub