Balthus the Painter (1908-2001)

Directed by Mark Kidel

After seeking access for nearly 10 years, Mark and his producer Emma gained access to a painter who had always been reluctant to expose his mystery. The film explores the eroticism and latent violence of his paintings, as well as his masterly treatment of landscape and flowers. The myth of paedophilia that has hung like a shadow over his life and work is blown apart by testimony from artists and art historians, as well as by one of his former child models. Balthus is revealed to be an original, whose life and work have been driven by matters much deeper than shock value or sex.