THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT
THE DRAUGHTSMAN'S CONTRACT
England, the late 17th century. The conceited draughtsman Neville accepts a commission from Mrs Herbert to produce twelve drawings of her country estate. The terms are unusually favourable: alongside his fee, the contract also stipulates that the lady of the house must satisfy the artist’s sexual demands.
Neville sets to work with meticulous precision. He fails to notice, however, that small details are appearing in his drawings that ought not to be there: an abandoned shirt, a pair of shoes, a ladder by the window. Everything suggests that a crime has taken place on the estate, and the arrogant artist, who has already managed to alienate the entire aristocratic circle around him, has no idea that he may be the perfect scapegoat.
Even in his debut, Greenaway displays the absurdist streak that would become one of his trademarks. From time to time, a naked man wanders across the roof of the house, listening in on conversations, stealing statues and clambering over walls, and almost no one seems to notice him. Greenaway’s feature debut is a period mystery in which art proves a better detective than man, revealing what direct observation leaves hidden.
The compositions are almost static and deliberately posed - the camera rarely moves, making each shot resemble a drawing constructed according to strict rules of perspective. This is already Greenaway at full artistic strength: refined, mischievous, absurd and sensual. The film was also a box-office success, immediately making it clear that its creator had no intention of following the mainstream.
Text: dr Adrianna Woroch
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