Is “Renoir” the Greatest Movie About Painting Ever?

Few things are as painful to watch in movies as an activity you know and love being portrayed poorly. From the awkward baseball swings of athletically challenged actors to the magical creativity of thespian painters and sculptors, the typical bio-pic rankles with under-researched insensitivity to the hard work and dedication of the subject depicted. French director Gilles Bourdos’ film, Renoir (released in 2012 but only now showing in select theaters in the United States), breaks out of the bio-pic mold and forges a fascinating new way of showing an artist, in this case Pierre-Auguste Renoir, toiling at his trade in a realistic way that also conveys the aesthetic, spiritual dimension of the art. Lush, delicate, charming, and soulful, Renoir might be the greatest movie about painting ever. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Is “Renoir” the Greatest Movie About Painting Ever?"

[Image: Michel Bouquet as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Christa Theret as Andrée Heuschling, and Vincent Rottiers as Jean Renoir in Renoir. Photo Credit: Fidelite Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films.]  
[Many thanks to Samuel Goldwyn Films for providing me with the image above and other press materials related to Renoir, now showing in select theaters in the United States.]

The Old Ball Game… with Women?

To paraphrase Tennyson, in the spring, a young (or old) man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of baseball. It’s “love” in the original, or course. When I saw a notice for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s current exhibition "A Sport for Every Girl": Women and Sports in the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick, it felt like you could have both. Using trading cards from the late 19^th and early 20^th century, “A Sport for Every Girl” illustrates how women in sports were seen, or, more accurately, gawked upon, in those early days of American sports. It’s a fascinating glimpse backwards at what seem like grossly backwards times in terms of women’s rights and how sports in America reflected society itself. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "The Old Ball Game… with Women?"

[Image: “Black Stocking Nine,” from the advertising card series Cabinet Photos, Allen & Ginter (H807, Type 1), issued by Allen & Ginter (American, Richmond, Virginia), 1884-1885. Albumen print, cabinet card. Dimensions: Sheet: 6 1/2 x 4 3/16 in. (16.5 x 10.6 cm). The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick.]  
[Many thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the image above and other press materials related to "A Sport for Every Girl": Women and Sports in the Collection of Jefferson R. Burdick, which runs through July 7, 2013.]