Une visite au Louvre

Une visite au Louvre begins with a long panning shot along the bank of the Seine, then moves on inside to examine works by Ingres, Veronese, Giorgione, David, Delacroix, Tintoretto and Courbet. On the soundtrack, there is a text by the poet Joachim Gasquet that evokes comments attributed to Cézanne. His words are spoken in a deliberately artificial manner by Julie Kolta. The imaginary Cézanne is gruff, funny, quarrelsome and inspiringly meticulous as he comments on his colleagues’ paintings. Shown here in two consecutive, almost identical versions, running 47 and 48 minutes respectively, Une visite au Louvre joins earlier Straub-Huillet films about Brecht, Kafka and Hölderlin in their exploration of art using uniquely cinematic means. The second version – which is optional, out of respect for the viewer – offers a passionate experience. The result is an exciting and delightful construction of forms of history, or, even, a historical form. Every element becomes clearer, more intense. We start to understand that every picture has as its subject lines, colours, dynamic, just as every text has words as its primary subject. Every film is a combination of pictures and words. Note: At the film makers’ request, the French voice-over has not been subtitled.