Séraphine (2009)

quietly sensuous from the get-go, a soggy amble through the water on a way to church

Senlis, 1914

takes comfort in nature, appreciates its details

sings hymns during her painting sessions

climbs a tree, dangles her legs and lifts her face to the breeze

a very simple but compelling story marked by attentive observation

sloping posture and the alertness of one who can afford no less than opportunistic vigilance

rewarding

though understated in style, suggests the inner life

compare to intimate whatever

hidden gifts

the unusual story of an artist not consumed by ambition, but rather suspicious of success

though poor, she doesn't seem to believe the world owes her any favors; she's just trying to make her way as best and as happily as she can

her attitude a function of Christian faith

"I'll look after you," he says

blood in her home-mixed pigments

underestimated by dint of class and gender

recovers a painting, its value neglected, from a ransacked home

an unelegant gait clodhopper

Chantilly, 1927

an early champion of Rousseau

"I don't collect to sell; I sell to collect."

arresting floral compositions

he prefers the term "Modern Primitive" to "Naive"

Helmut

of her paintings: "When I look at them, what I've done scares me."

small infusions of privilege and rejection trouble the waters, as does her increasingly fervid belief in her divine inspiration

winds up in a state that seems to cross from ecstatic eccentricity to madness

1935