REFLECTIONS OF THE FRENCH ART BETWEEN THE MID-19TH AND THE EARLY 20TH CENTURIES IN VINCENTE MINNELLI’S FILMS
Abstract
This paper examines and presents some heretofore familiar, as well as new suppositions: one being the influence of the French art between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries on two films by Vincente Minnelli directed in the 1950s – An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958). Following a brief discussion on some biographical details that may have been the reason for Minnelli’s affection for such art, and the development of his career, what follows is an overview of the production of both films, and more importantly an analysis of the references to art that shaped their visual component, while simultaneously attempting to disclose possible reasons for their appearance.
Keywords: film musical, art, France, Vincente Minnelli, Arthur Freed.
References
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