Séraphine (2008, France / Belgium / Germany)
Aichi Insurance Physicians’ Newspaper
September 2010
Séraphine (1864–1942) was born in northern France. In 1912, in Senlis, a town near Paris, she devoted herself to flowers and trees, often speaking to them, and developed her own distinctive style and painting techniques. She was so poor that she could barely afford paint. She made her own pigments from plants and bought only white paint on credit. She even secretly took oil from church candles to use as a substitute for painting medium. She was willing to do any kind of work and paid no heed to what others said about her. Believing in God and listening to the voices of angels, she spent her lonely days doing nothing but painting.
One day, she was discovered by Wilhelm Uhde, the art dealer who had recognized Picasso’s talent. But then came the First World War, followed by the Great Depression. Séraphine could not understand Uhde’s financial collapse, and her mental health gradually deteriorated until she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
The relationship between artistic creativity and madness is studied in a branch of psychiatry known as pathography, or the study of the lives and illnesses of creative individuals. Many artists, including Vincent van Gogh, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, have been examined from this perspective. Several artists have also been portrayed in films, including Camille Claudel and Lust for Life, about Van Gogh.
There are many artists who continue creating in obscurity, pass away quietly, and only receive recognition for their work after death. Séraphine was one of them. The film’s cinematography resembles an Impressionist painting, holding the viewer’s attention to the very end. Even after the credits roll, a tender and deeply satisfying afterglow remains.
Set against the backdrop of rich natural landscapes and psychiatric hospitals of the time, the film beautifully portrays the relationship between a painter for whom painting was her only source of emotional support and the art dealer who continued to support her.
I recommend this film to anyone struggling with the loneliness of life.
