On April 4, Danny Boyle's new film, “Trance,” is released on Russian screens, the story of a confrontation between an auctioneer, a gangster and a psychotherapist over a stolen painting worth $25 million. Boyle is one of those Britons who managed to achieve unconditional recognition from Hollywood. His film Slumdog Millionaire was recognized best film 2008 in England and the USA and collected all the main market awards - BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar. At the same time, Boyle’s themes are far from those accepted in mass culture: drug addiction, violence, religious and national enmity. In the new film he explores hypnosis. And the power of money. Like a true British eccentric, he began the interview himself
Have you already talked to Vincent (Vincent Cassel, who played the role of the gang leader Frank. - “RR”)? You see, Vincent often visited Russia. He has a lot of stories and thoughts on this matter. As for me, I only presented my films and didn’t really see anything. Although last year, when my daughter turned 21, I took her to St. Petersburg. The Hermitage shocked me. I could spend a couple of weeks there. Imagine, you enter a room - and Matisse is hanging there and no one is there! You look around: where are the visitors? Where is the security? Nobody! You can calmly look at the picture, and no one will bother you. There is nothing like this anywhere else in the world!
Is that where you got the idea to make this film about a stolen painting?
Maybe... (Laughs)
Why did you choose Francisco Goya’s “Witches in the Air” for the film?
Goya expanded the scope of contemporary art: he began to paint not only real world, but also what people think or guess about. He often examined dreams. "Witches in the Air" is his most surreal work, it plunges the viewer into madness. When I saw in the picture a man running with his head covered with a blanket, I was amazed how much this corresponded to the character of the main character, the auctioneer Simon, who is running but does not know where.
The heroes of "Trance" are successful people. Why should they run somewhere? Simon works in a big auction house, Frank is a big businessman, Elizabeth has rich clients. The feeling is that they want to steal a Goya painting because they are simply bored.
When you make a film, you want it to have an impetus for something new. The energy of transition to another world. The impetus for such a transition could be a suitcase with money that falls on your head, a stolen painting, or participation in the show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in India.
Working on a film opens you up to this new world. I like cinema precisely because as a director you don’t know where new circumstances will take you. I come from a spoiled, pampered world, and I want to break through its limitations. My heroes want to do something unusual. Elizabeth works every day with people who come to her to overcome their fear of spiders or golf addiction. Naturally, she's bored!
That is, residents of rich countries subconsciously strive for cruelty and chaos?
Take, for example, the Olympic Games in London. A year before the Olympics, England saw uprisings. London was burning, people were stealing, greed was spilling out. And a year later - the Olympics, which became an expression of the national spirit. Society always requires conformity: it is necessary to preserve order and society itself. But freedom of expression must still be protected, although this is not always pleasant. When the punk movement began in England, it was unacceptable to most. And today this movement is full of innocence and romanticism. Because the idea of freedom is always romantic and idealistic. By the way, I was a punk myself.
Simon constantly repeats that no painting is worth human life. Is there anything at all that is worth it?
Another person's life. Only this. If you forget about this, it is very easy to start burning people in ovens again.
Who do you think is the hero of the 21st century?
Or a heroine. In "Trance" I gave a woman a serious role for the first time. It’s not immediately obvious, but the engine of the entire film is a woman. I have two beautiful daughters who are already in their twenties, but I still haven’t made a film with a woman in the lead, can you imagine? Although, if you choose a hero of the 21st century, I am sure it will be a woman.
Where will it come from?
We try to look into the future, but everything we rely on is from the past. It seems to me that women will have the greatest influence on applied sciences. For example, Samsung has released a smartphone that watches you. If you stop looking at it, it turns off, look again, it turns on. Look at the people around you: they check their phones every two seconds. The connection between man and technology will become ever stronger. Soon biotechnologists will make gadgets parts of the human body, and our heroine of the 21st century must come from this world, and not from traditional areas like culture or politics.
Where will cinema go in this situation?
Today, even in a cinema, a person can watch the same film he came to see, simultaneously on the screen of his smartphone. Simply because it’s more common. It's impossible to stop people from updating their Twitter every minute during a movie. We must learn to accept this.
I know one thing: people have always liked good stories. Psychologically, people are geared towards a constant search for new stories and facts through any broadcaster, be it TV, telephone, cinema or theater stage. We always need more.
Many people think that cinemas will not survive, but I hope they will. Because there is something special about the collective perception of ideas. On the other hand, my view is the view of my generation. Personally, I love going to the movies. And as a director, I try to find what makes people want to go to the cinema and sit there in dark room with strangers, and not just download a movie and watch it wherever and whenever it’s convenient.
You directed the opening ceremony Olympic Games in London. Is it more difficult than making a movie?
For me personally, making films is more difficult. The Olympics are the history of the country, this is always relevant. And in cinema you tell personal stories. But personal history is an organic thing, it changes every minute. I constantly have to do something so that the story I'm filming doesn't become outdated already on set.
This is generally current problem for cinema now. You make a story, the film comes out a year later. You have some kind of technical novelty there, but a year later technology has moved forward, and no one will remember what you show there. That's why I've never made topical films myself. And that is why directors constantly choose love, death, sex, fear - the eternal components of our lives - as themes.
That is, topics loved by Hollywood. But you still work with them differently - darker or something... And you still get Oscars for it.
I always try to work outside of the Hollywood system. But in practice, we all work within this system. Even take low-budget, talented films: no one will see them until the studio takes them under their wing and starts distributing them.
I admit it. But I try to keep my stories unexpected. I tried to make “Trance” so that the viewer would always doubt: at the beginning of the film, James McAvoy seems to be the hero (he plays the auctioneer Simon. - “RR”), but in his true light he appears before us only at the end. Cassel starts off as a classic villain, but by the end of the film he becomes like a teenager who doesn't know what to do with his feelings. All these shades can be shown only if you work with a smaller budget, which allows you to go against the traditions of Hollywood. Hollywood works because people want simple values, obviously. But it's always nice to confuse him and shoot something darker than he wants.
A brief description of Goya's paintings associated with dark forces, witches and the devil.
Have a nice trip
Caprichos
Probably the most extensive work devoted to the topic of witchcraft and witches is a series of caprichos engravings. The etchings presented in it ridicule the political situation of the country, social status and religious prejudices of people.
Hunting for teeth
Great goat
Date of creation: 1798.
Type: fresco.
Coven
The magnificent painting is part of a series of six works created by Goya, commissioned by the Duke of Osuna, to decorate his estate, near Madrid. Main character scenes are the devil. He is represented in the form of a large goat, ready to sacrifice two babies. The work is considered satirical and critical of the superstitions of an uneducated society.
Flight of the Witches
Date of creation: 1797.
Location: Prado.
Flight of the Witches
Another work for the Duke of Osuna, like the Caprichos series, depicts scenes of witchcraft. Three hatted figures grabbed a naked man out of the air. In addition to them, you can see the poor fellow covering his ears and a running man in a white cloak, right hand reproducing a gesture intended to protect against the evil eye. This painting was acquired by the Prado Museum in 1999.
Conclusion
Francisco Goya, although he created many works on mystical themes, treated it with humor and distrust, probably seeing only interesting scenes and images in mysterious rituals and beliefs.
Goya's Witches updated: September 15, 2017 by: Gleb
Goya's Witches Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish: Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes, March 30, 1746, Fuendetodes, near Zaragoza - April 16, 1828, Bordeaux) - great spanish artist and engraver. One of the most brilliant masters of the romantic movement and art.
1797 The painting, Flight of the Witches, depicts scenes of witchcraft. Three hatted figures grabbed a naked man out of the air. In addition to them, you can see the poor fellow covering his ears and a running man in a white cloak, with his right hand reproducing a gesture intended to protect against the evil eye. This painting was acquired by the Prado Museum in 1999.
Great goat, Date of creation: 1798. Type: fresco. One of the images from the “Dark Pictures” series. The canvas was painted during the most difficult period of the artist’s life, when he began to lose his hearing and suffer from monstrous visions that haunted him in his dreams and in reality. He transferred these incredible hallucinations to the walls of his own home. “The Sabbath of Witches” was located along the wall of the room and, with its incredible surrealism and gloomy coloring, it drove everyone into the room into a stupor. Only Goya's genius could cope with such a large-scale canvas. Disproportional, frankly ugly figures with ugly faces are collected in large numbers in this picture. The composition is built on the basis of an oval, which creates a feeling of continuous rotation of this entire dark, disgusting mass. This is a reflection of the broken, sick artist’s ideas about the world around him. Political instability, fear for own life, a serious illness gave rise to depression, which resulted in a series of paintings that are striking in their gloominess of perception and expression of the image. Trying to depict all human vices and satanic manifestations, Goya makes the appearance of witches distorted and disgusting. This is the embodiment of universal evil in human likeness, an artistic reflection of the patient inner world artist. In this painting there is not a hint of early work Goya. No neither bright colors, nor the gentle pretty faces of his charming Spanish women. Only dark, deathly colors, a complete absence of beauty and a tense, unnatural circulation of various forms of evil. And after many years, “The Great Goat” amazes with its expression and dark, negative expressiveness. Francisco de Goya. Painting on the wall of the “House of the Deaf”. 1819 – 1823. On current moment the fresco, with some damage, was transferred to canvas and placed in the Prado Museum (Madrid). Oil on canvas. 140 x 438 cm
Painting, Witches' Sabbath, Date of creation: 1797–1798. Location: Lazaro Galdiano Museum. The magnificent painting is part of a series of six works created by Goya, commissioned by the Duke of Osuna, to decorate his estate, near Madrid. The main character of the scene is the devil. He is represented in the form of a large goat, ready to sacrifice two babies. The work is considered satirical and critical of the superstitions of an uneducated society. Francisco Goya, although he created many works on mystical themes, treated it with humor and distrust, probably seeing only interesting scenes and images in mysterious rituals and beliefs.
Painting "Have a nice trip!" (Series "Caprichos"). Date of creation 1799. Biography: Famous artist Francisco de Goya was born on March 30, 1746 in Fuendetodos in Spain. He began his studies of art as a teenager and even spent some time in Rome to further his skills. In the 1770s, Goya worked in the Spanish royal court. In addition to commissioning portraits of nobles, he created works that criticized social and political problems of his era. The son of a Guilder, Goya spent part of his youth in Zaragoza. There he began painting at the age of about fourteen. Was a student of Jose Martinez Luzan. He copied the works of the great masters, finding inspiration in the work of artists such as Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velazquez and Rembrandt van Rijn. Goya later moved to Madrid, where he began working with the brothers Francisco and Ramon Bayeu at Subías in their studio. He sought to continue his art education in 1770 or 1771, traveling in Italy. In Rome, Goya studied classics and worked there. He presented the picture in a competition held by the Academy fine arts in the city of Parma. While the judges liked his work, he failed to win the top prize. Through German artist Anton Raphael Mengs, Goya began creating works for the royal family of Spain. He first drew caricatures of the tapestries, which served as models in the Madrid factory. These works showed scenes from everyday life, such as "The Umbrella" (1777) and "The Pottery Maker" (1779). In 1779, Goya received an appointment as a painter to the royal court. He continued to rise in status, gaining admission to the Royal Academy of San Fernando the following year. Over time, Goya created a reputation for himself as a portrait painter. The work "The Duke and Duchess of Osuna and their Children" (1787-1788) illustrates this perfectly. He wrote skillfully smallest elements their faces and clothes. In 1792, Goya became completely deaf and subsequently suffered from an unknown illness. His style has changed somewhat. Continuing to develop professionally, Goya was appointed director of the Royal Academy in 1795, but he never forgot the plight of the Spanish people, and reflected this in his works. Goya created a series of photographs called "Caprichos" in 1799. Even in my own official work, as researchers believe, cast a critical glance at his subjects. He painted a portrait of the family of King Charles IV around 1800, which remains one of his most famous works. The political situation in the country subsequently became so tense that Goya voluntarily went into exile in 1824. Despite his poor health, he thought he would be safer outside Spain. Goya moved to Bordeaux, where he spent the rest of his life. Here he continued to write. Some of it is more later works- these are portraits of friends and life in exile. The artist died on April 16, 1828 in Bordeaux in France.
The two most famous paintings Goya - "Naked Maha" (La Maja desnuda) and "Dressed Maha" (La Maja vestida).
They depict a woman in the same pose, naked and clothed.No claims to allegory or mythological meaning.The identity of the sitter is uncertain. The most likely version is that it depicts the model - the Duchess of Alba, with whom Goya had a relationship, so it is believed.The paintings were never publicly exhibited during Goya's lifetime.
Family of Charles IV
Portrait of the Marquise of Santa Cruz
It is not known for certain whether this portrait is a depiction of the artist’s wife, painted in 1796 year.
Water Carrier
Mahi on the balcony
Portrait of Dona Isabel
Don
Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuniga
Portrait of Maria Teresa de Bourbon
Duchess of Alba
Duchess of Alba
Francisco de La Tirana
Portrait of the Countess of Chinchon
Ferdinand Guillemardet
Dona Tadea Arias de
Enriquez
Marquise de
Pontejos
Countess of Chinchon
Dona Teresa Suredda
Queen Marie Louise
Francisco de Marquise de la
Solana
Woman with fan
Gaspar de
Melchor
Portrait of Juan Antonio
Cuervo
Portrait of Mariano Goya
Portrait of Antonia Zarate
Portrait of Victor Guye
In 1746, a son was born into the family of a master gilder and the daughter of an impoverished nobleman. In 1760, the family moved to Zaragoza and here the young man was sent to the workshop of the artist Luzana y Martinez. A few years later, involved in a fight, he is forced to flee Zaragoza. In 1766, Goya came to Madrid. Here he gets acquainted with the works of court artists, improves his skills and even participates in competitions at the Madrid Academy of Fine Arts, hoping to be accepted into the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. His painting was rejected and he went to Italy. Ends up in Rome, where he gets acquainted with painting Italian masters. However, being an adventurous person, he again gets into trouble: at night he sneaks into a nunnery to kidnap his beloved; caught in the act, he is forced to leave Rome. In 1771, having received the second prize of the Parma Academy of Arts for a painting on a theme from ancient history, returns to Zaragoza, where he works on frescoes in the late Italian Baroque tradition (side nave of the Church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, 1771-1772). Around 1773, Goya settled in Madrid with his friend Francisco Bayeu, and worked in his workshop. Bayeu was then the official court painter of King Charles IV and Queen Marie Louise.
In 1791, Goya met the Duchess of Alba, who became his lover and patroness. He begins to court her. But in 1792-93. He is overtaken by an illness, as a result of which he loses his hearing. During his recovery in 1792, Goya began working on his first large series of etchings, Caprichos (completed by 1799), a satire on political, social and religious orders. In 1798, Charles IV commissioned Goya to paint the dome of his country church of San Antonio de la Florida. In 1796, the Duchess's husband died, she goes to mourn this loss to her estate in Andalusia, and takes Goya with her. He painted her portraits many times; the two most famous of them are “Maja Nude” (c. 1797) and “Maja Dressed” (c. 1802, Prado). After her death, he creates "Macha on the Balcony" (circa 1816, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). The Duchess of Alba died in 1802. She bequeathed to give out 3,500 reais annually from her remaining fortune to Javier Goya, the artist’s son. In 1808, Spain was occupied by Napoleon. Goya witnessed the uprising against Napoleonic troops in Madrid and the repression that followed. His son married the daughter of a rich merchant and began to live separately. Goya was left completely alone. During these extremely difficult years for Goya, he lived alone in country house“Quinta del Sordo” (that is, “House of the Deaf”), the walls of which he painted in oils (1820-1823, the paintings are now in the Prado). Monument to Goya in Zaragoza He meets Leocadia de Weiss, the wife of businessman Isidro Weiss, who then divorces her husband. She had a daughter from Goya, who was named Rosarita. Fearing persecution from the new Spanish government, in 1824 Goya, along with Leocadia and little Rosarita, went to France, where he spent the last four years of his life. By this time, Goya's influence on artistic culture begins to acquire pan-European significance. A crater on Mercury is named after Goya.