Image via.
I am fairly certain I’ve talked about Balthus before on this blog, but at this point, it is probably years since I have done so. But, last weekend I saw the movie Stoker and found the visual similarities between Balthus’ paintings and the visuals of the film striking. (Later, I found an interview with one of the actresses, Mia Wasikowska. She said that did indeed look at Balthus’ work to prepare for their roles.)
Balthus is a Polish-French painter who preferred to be seen and not heard. Coinicentally, there is little writing about him, so the emphasis of course is on looking at his works. Balthus preferred the figure, and his most famous paintings depicted young girls in an often erotic context. They were and still are controversial because of this, although the artist insists that this is not his intention.
Two above images via.
Image via.
Above two images via.
Some stills from Stoker. Not a ton of them out there yet, but hopefully you get the idea. I would definitely recommend seeing the film! It also takes cues from Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt. So, if you are a Hitchcock fan like me, you’ll probably really enjoy this.
