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The Painting

The tragic story of Queen Maria Anna of Austria is revisited through a reconstruction of Velázquez’s famous painting, adapted with mind-blowing precision on one of the world's only two Alexeïeff-Parker pinscreens.
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Created using a Alexeïeff-Parker pinscreen, The Painting thoughtfully revisits the tragic fate of Queen Maria Anna of Austria, immortalized by Velázquez in 1652. Married at 14 to her uncle, Philip IV of Spain, she bore the weight of a lineage doomed by numerous incestuous marriages. Fascinated by this portrait and the tragedies it represents, Michèle Lemieux transforms the image into a living work where shadows and light reveal a woman who is both captive and ethereal. Through an experimental approach blending sound textures and stark lighting, the film becomes a visual poem exploring memory, the power of art, and the role of women in history.

History Visual Arts Women All subjects
  • writing
    Michèle Lemieux
  • animation
    Michèle Lemieux
  • direction
    Michèle Lemieux
  • production
    Christine Noël
    Julie Roy
  • editing
    Annie Jean
  • sound designer
    Catherine Van Der Donckt
  • original music
    Robert Marcel Lepage
  • musical adaptation
    Robert Marcel Lepage
  • sound design consultant
    Benoît Dame
  • vocal soloist
    Bronwyn Thies-Thompson
  • voice
    Annie Jean
  • musician
    Kerry Bursey
    Sheila Hannigan
    Pierre-Yves Martel
    François Pilon
  • sound recording
    Geoffrey Mitchell
  • re-recording mixer
    Jean-Paul Vialard
  • additional animation sequences
    Nicolas Liguori
  • graphic designer
    Réjean Myette
  • infographics
    Pascal Huynh
    Alexandre Morin
  • translation
    Helge Dascher
  • production assistant
    Pierre M. Trudeau
  • art history consultant
    Alexandre Grégoire
  • online editing
    Serge Verreault
  • technical coordinator
    Lyne Lapointe
    Jean-François Laprise
    Mira Mailhot
    Esther Viragh
  • technical director
    Pierre Plouffe
    Éric Pouliot
  • technical specialist - animation
    Yannick Grandmont
  • studio coordinator
    Michèle Labelle
    Rose Mercier-Marcotte
    Laetitia Seguin
  • administrator
    Karine Desmeules
    Diane Régimbald
  • senior production coordinator
    Josiane Bernardin
    Camila Blos
    Nellie Carrier
  • legal counsel
    Christian Pitchen
  • rights clearance research
    Sylvia Mezei
  • marketing
    Geneviève Bérard
  • publicist
    Nadine Viau
  • line production
    Mylène Augustin
    Mélanie Boudreau Blanchard
    Anne-Marie Bousquet
The Painting
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