Watch: Even More Famous Paintings That Inspired Great Filmmakers
Some of your favorite shots may have been inspired by some of history's greatest painters.
It's no secret that many of our most revered directors, like Sofia Coppola, Paul Thomas Anderson, Steven Spielberg, and Jean-Luc Godard, have used the work of great painters to inspire their own. In fact, video essayist Vugar Efendi has explored just that in a video series entitled "Film Meets Art," which provides a side-by-side comparison of famous paintings and the films they've inspired. Earlier this month, Efendi shared the final video in his three-part series, revealing once again just how large of an impact artists like Alex Colville, Frida Kahlo, and Vermeer have had on the cinematic community. Check it out below:
Here are the first two installments in case you haven't seen them yet:
So, knowing which paintings inspired different filmmakers is pretty interesting (and might come in handy at some point when playing a game of trivia), but what can we learn from all of this? Well, I think it shows us that inspiration can come from anywhere. As filmmakers, we spend so much thinking about and dealing with the cinematic world, but filmmaking is just one art form. There are countless other ways artists express themselves creatively, all of which can offer some much needed insight into and inspiration for our own work.
It doesn't matter if it's a painting, a song, or a macramé afghan, if you're open to it it can inspire you. In fact, I was at a bar a few weeks ago and while I was taking a break from writing articles for you fine people, I decided to watch one of my favorite Tricia Miranda dance videos (because I like to bust those moves out in the club, guys). But instead of being completely mesmerized by the incredible choreography, I started to wonder about dance and the many different forms and meanings it takes. Fast forward a half an hour later, I had written a treatment for a short film, and all because I was open to allowing some crazy dance video to inspire me.
Opportunities to be inspired are literally everywhere. It's less about finding ideas and more about letting them find you.
Source: Vugar Efendi
