To say Peter Greenaway has an appreciation for the arts would be an understatement. A large majority of his films are loaded with overly obvious art references (A Zed & Two Noughts & The Belly Of An Architect) and sometimes not so obvious art references (Drowning By Numbers & The Pillow Book). I'm certain that if Peter Greenaway did not find cinema he would have been a painter or a sculptor. And if not that - surely he'd be an architect considering his filmography.
The Belly of an Architect may be Greenaway's only film on the subject of architecture, but his work before and after is still rooted in that profession. In The Pillow Book, Greenaway delves in to the world of calligraphy, which used to be an integral part of the architectural drafting process. Even though it's hardly practiced anymore, architects and aspiring students were once required to have excellent calligraphy skills for their drawings. In The Draughtsman's Contract, Greenaway follows an artist who's been commissioned to draw a series of landscapes. And some of Peter Greenaway's non-film/installation work is rooted in architecture (his installation piece titled; "steps" is a three dimensional large scale model of a staircase).
Not that it makes or breaks the enjoyment of his films, but if you really want to go deep in to the cinema of Greenaway you do have to have a little knowledge on the history of art, architecture & design beyond just Frank Lloyd Wright and you have to be familiar with the lesser known Rembrandt paintings to catch some of his visual references. On one hand, that is a little unfair. Why should you need pre-requisites in order to simply watch & understand a movie? Those unfamiliar with architecture, classic art or art house cinema may find Greenaway's references and name-dropping to be a tad bit elitist at times. But on the other hand, you could take that as Peter Greenaway giving his audience some credit and making the assumption that they know a thing or two about classic art or the differences between a robust column versus an oblique column.
Peter Greenaway's filmography spans over five decades so it would be too much to cram his entire body of work in to one entry. This will be the first of an on-going series (part two will focus on Greenaway's fascination with animals, the human anatomy and other various cinematic influences).
Enjoy...
RECURRING ART REFERENCE: "THE LAST SUPPER"
RECURRING ART REFERENCE: LAMENTATION OF CHRIST
The Belly of an Architect may be Greenaway's only film on the subject of architecture, but his work before and after is still rooted in that profession. In The Pillow Book, Greenaway delves in to the world of calligraphy, which used to be an integral part of the architectural drafting process. Even though it's hardly practiced anymore, architects and aspiring students were once required to have excellent calligraphy skills for their drawings. In The Draughtsman's Contract, Greenaway follows an artist who's been commissioned to draw a series of landscapes. And some of Peter Greenaway's non-film/installation work is rooted in architecture (his installation piece titled; "steps" is a three dimensional large scale model of a staircase).
Not that it makes or breaks the enjoyment of his films, but if you really want to go deep in to the cinema of Greenaway you do have to have a little knowledge on the history of art, architecture & design beyond just Frank Lloyd Wright and you have to be familiar with the lesser known Rembrandt paintings to catch some of his visual references. On one hand, that is a little unfair. Why should you need pre-requisites in order to simply watch & understand a movie? Those unfamiliar with architecture, classic art or art house cinema may find Greenaway's references and name-dropping to be a tad bit elitist at times. But on the other hand, you could take that as Peter Greenaway giving his audience some credit and making the assumption that they know a thing or two about classic art or the differences between a robust column versus an oblique column.
Peter Greenaway's filmography spans over five decades so it would be too much to cram his entire body of work in to one entry. This will be the first of an on-going series (part two will focus on Greenaway's fascination with animals, the human anatomy and other various cinematic influences).
Enjoy...
ART INFLUENCE/ART APPRECIATION
I always think that art is one of the most wonderful exciting curious ways to learn. I have no worries or apologies about art being used as a teaching medium - Peter Greenaway
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| The Belly Of An Architect / "The Death Of Murat" |
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| The Belly Of An Architect / Rene Magritte |
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| The Belly Of An Architect / "The Kiss" |
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| The Belly Of An Architect / "The Thinker" / Atlas |
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| The Belly Of An Architect / "The Thinker" |
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| The Belly Of An Architect / "Tristan & Iseult" |
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The Belly Of An Architect / "On The Operating Table"
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| A Zed & Two Noughts / "The Girl With The Red Hat" |
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A Zed & Two Noughts / untitled still-life painting
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| A TV Dante / Vitruvian Man |
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| 8-1/2 Women / Modular Man |
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| Drowning By Numbers / "Preparation Of Christs Body" |
RECURRING ART REFERENCE: "THE LAST SUPPER"
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| Top to Bottom: The Belly Of An Architect The Cook The Thief His Wife & Her Lover The Draughtman's Contract Nightwatching Drowning By Numbers Darwin |
RECURRING ART REFERENCE: LAMENTATION OF CHRIST
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Top to Bottom:
Drowning By Numbers
A Zed & Two Noughts
The Pillow Book
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THE ART OF CALLIGRAPHY, PENMANSHIP & SKETCHING
Peter Greenaway has a love for freehand creation from sketching (The Draughtman's Contact & The Belly Of An Architect) to caligraphy (Prospero's Books & The Pillowbook)
Freehand is a lost art. Not a completely lost art but it’s still not as prevalent as it was decades ago. Now…modern technology (Photoshop, sketchup, AutoCAD, Revit, etc) does exist for a reason and should be utilized in the field of design because it makes creating easier. But freehand designing/sketching/calligraphy is also important because there are no limitations outside of your own mind. The aforementioned design programs are very fancy & user-friendly but they are still limited when compared to a pen & a piece of paper.
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| Prospero's Books |
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| Prospero's Books |
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| The Draughtman's Contract |
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| The Pillowbook |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| Nightwatching |
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| The Belly Of Architect |
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| The Draughtman's Contract |
ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Architecture is the ultimate multimedia and it creates the situation which exists for everyday 9-5 living. You can forget cinema, you can go through life without worrying about a painting, you can even impoverish your life by not listening to music, but you cannot avoid architecture. We need it; it is one of the essential elements. - Peter Greenaway
Art & architecture go hand in hand so it would only make sense that Peter Greenaway has same fascination with Architecture that he does with art (architecture is an art within itself). And like his knowledge of art history, Greenaway’s knowledge of Architecture is quite deep (I say this because I studied architecture, currently work in the design field and have a pretty good understanding of the language of cinema). It's one thing to capture a polarizing shot of an urban landscape or a beautiful modern building but Greenaway goes deeper. Instead of standalone shots of monuments, Peter Greenaway explores the support structures that hold up floors & ceilings. He knows the differences between the different types of columns (load bearing vs. cosmetic) and he knows how to shoot/capture a space created by archways, walkways & columns.
COLUMNS
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| Prospero's Books |
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| A Zed & 2 Noughts |
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| Eisenstein In Guanajuato |
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| Prospero's Books |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| Eisenstein In Guanajuato |
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| 8-1/2 Women |
ARCHWAYS & DOMES
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| A Zed & Two Noughts |
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| Prospero's Books |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| Eisenstein In Guanajuato |
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| The Tulse Luper Suitcases |
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| The Tulse Luper Suitcases |
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| Leonardo's Last Supper |
CEILING STRUCTURES
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| 8-1/2 Women |
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| The Tulse Luper Suitcases |
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| Goltzius & The Pelican Company |
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| Goltzius & The Pelican Company |
WINDOWS
And for those that don’t know or are in denial, windows are very much an intricate part of architecture as well...
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| Windows |
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| The Belly Of An Architect |
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| Windows |
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| A Walk Through H |
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| A Zed & Two Noughts |
RECURRING SHOT: GRID LINES
Gridlines give me the subconscious visualization of graph paper which then takes me to the idea of designing (architecture), drawing, (art), space planning and the general idea of creating something. His use of gridlines & framing (which we’ll get in to next) is sometimes obvious & on the nose (The Falls) and other times unconventional & clever (The Draughtsman’s Contract).
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| The Draughtman's Contract |
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The Draughtman's Contract
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| A Zed & Two Noughts |
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| The Falls |
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| The Falls |
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| A Zed & Two Noughts |
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| A TV Dante |
Speaking of framing…
RECURRING SHOT: FRAMING
The way Peter Greenaway frames his actors (and sometimes pieces of actual art) gives us a subconscious sensation of being in an art gallery...
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| A Walk Through H |
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| A Walk Through H |
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| A Zed & Two Noughts |
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| The Draughtman's Contract |
Greenaway’s signature frame-in-frame in shots…
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| Prospero's Books |
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| The Pillowbook |
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| The Tulse Luper Suitcases |
MIXED MEDIA & EXPERIMENTATION OUTSIDE OF "TRADITIONAL CINEMA"
Peter Greenaway is more than a filmmaker. He is a VJ, a visual artist (“Leonardo’s Last Supper”), a mixed-media hobbyist (“Long Live The Cinema/Death To The Cinema”) and a designer (“The Steps”)
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| "Leonardo's Last Supper" |
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| Peter Greenaway "VJing"... |
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| One of Peter Greenaway's many multi-media art installations... |
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| A shot from "Long Live The Cinema"/"Death To The Cinema" |
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| Greenaway utilizing multiple screens during an art installation |
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| "The Steps" (a structure designed by Peter Greenaway as part of an art installation project) |
