Drawings by Orson Welles for The Trial is on exhibit in Belgium through July 28.
Some 95 original Orson Welles drawings made for his 1962 film The Trial are currently on exhibit in Belgium.
The exhibit at the Cultural Center Scharpoord in Knokke-Heist kicked off May 30 and runs through July 28.
In addition to the exhibit of the artwork, organizers plan a screening of The Trial and Mark Cousins’ acclaimed documentary The Eyes of Orson Welles at the Kultuurcentrum Scharpoord on June 29.
Drawings by Orson Welles for The Trial is the brainchild of gallerists Ronny and Jessy Van de Velde.
“The more than 90 sketches for the décors of The Trial offer a privileged view of Welles’ way of working, and illustrate how he puts his stamp on all aspects of the film,” Van de Velde said a statement. “The Trial is even more experimental than his other films via the great role that he here accords to space.”
He added, “The drawings for The Trial illustrate that Welles, more than other directors, was able to take advantage of film’s potential as a spatial art. The drawings for The Trial, and the film itself, reveal the secret of Welles’ way of seeing and his revolutionary visual language; his seemingly demanding films are all the richer because they teach us to see while we are watching them.”
A commemorative catalogue, available only at the exhibit, provides a keepsake of the drawings, along with informative text by Jan Ceuleers in Dutch, French and English.
The book includes two pages of Welles’ detailed typewritten set instructions: “The ceilings are to be 2.10 metres high. These ceilings will always show in the camera and should be made solid and satisfactory looking. There should be no question of constructing them of light material on wooden frames or in sections with a review to removing them for lighting.”)
Drawings by Orson Welles for The Trial has the backing of StudioCanal, Cousins and Beatrice Welles.
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