PAZOLINI. How Classical Art Shaped the Genius of Cinema

«Art awakens the mystery without which the world would not exist». — René Magritte

Everyone knows Pasolini the innovator, Pasolini the master of the frame, ultimately, Pasolini the rebel, and it is all the more interesting to look at the figure of the great director as a connoisseur of painting and an admirer of classical art.

Scenes, compositions, frame boundaries, angles, backgrounds, light, and decorations — the influence of centuries-old visual culture is felt everywhere in his films: «Young Man with a Basket of Fruit» by Caravaggio, «The Last Supper» by Leonardo da Vinci, Giotto's frescoes — all of them found their reflection in the frames of the Italian director.

You will learn what standard biographies remain silent about:

• How did the graceful proportions of the Mannerists combine with the harsh reality in «Accattone»?

• «Teorema» and the paintings of Francis Bacon: will contemporary art save the world?

• How did Pasolini understand Boccaccio's «Decameron», and how did he understand it? (Spoiler: these are two different texts.)

• Which artists' works did the director refer to while working on «Cheese from Sheep»?

• How did Caravaggio influence the visual language of early Pasolini?