The Painting
Directed by Robert Beavers
The Painting intercuts shots of traffic navigating the old-world remnants of downtown Bern, Switzerland, with details from a 15th-century altarpiece, “The Martyrdom of St. Hippolytus”. The Painting intercuts shots of traffic navigating the old-world remnants of downtown Bern, Switzerland, with details from a 15th-century altarpiece, “The Martyrdom of St. Hippolytus”. The painting shows the calm, near-naked saint in a peaceful landscape, a frozen moment before four horses tear his body to pieces while an audience of soigné nobles look on; in the movie’s revised version, Beavers gives it a comparably rarefied psychodramatic jolt, juxtaposing shots of Gregory Markopoulos, bisected by shafts of light, with a torn photo of himself and the recurring image of a shattered windowpane. (J. Hoberman, The Village Voice)
Duration
0h 12m
Released
January 1, 1972
Part ofThe My Hand Outstretched to the Winged Distance and Sightless Measure
Includes Winged Dialogue (1967), Early Monthly Segments (2003), Plan of Brussels (1968), The Count of Days (1969), Palinode (1970), Diminished Frame (1970), Still Light (1971), From the Notebook of... (1972), The Painting (1972), Work Done (1973), Ruskin (1974), Sotiros (2000), Amor (1980), Efpsychi (1983), Wingseed (1985), The Hedge Theater (2002), The Stoas (1997), and The Ground (2001).
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