In the summer of 1937, four couples vacation by a beach in the French Riviera, just outside Antibes: La Garoupe. The couples consist of Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar, Man Ray and Adrienne “Ady” Fidelin, Paul and Nusch Eluard, and Lee Miller and Roland Penrose – photographers, painters, filmmakers, models, and leaders of the surrealist art movement and beyond. François Lévy-Kuentz’s documentary On the French Riviera with Man Ray and Picasso uses the artists’ films, photography, and primary documents to tell the story of a wildly creative summer between friends and lovers in what Man Ray describes in his autobiography as a “Mediterranean Eden.”
While one might expect a dry documentary given the almost 90-year-old subject matter, On the French Riviera with Man Ray and Picasso instead serves the audience with the juicy equivalent of an art history reality TV show. In between that summer’s artistic experiments – including the painting of Picasso’s masterwork inspired by the Spanish Civil War, Guernica —On the French Riviera… reveals love triangles, a throuple, and even a series of pornographic photographs, each too racy to show longer than a fraction of a second. In addition to this risqué material, Michel Portal’s jazzy soundtrack and Man Ray’s own gleeful vacation photography add a light touch to a documentary populated by some of the most intense figures in modern art. (Not to mention it taking place on the eve of the most devastating events of the 20th century, with the threat of war looming over the carefree artists.)
Levy-Kuentz flits in and out of the couples’ unforgettably productive and influential summer in Antibes, providing the audience with context to the artists’ lives and careers both before and after 1937. This time-hopping unfortunately muddles the documentary’s timeline for casual viewers. However, thanks to this dedication to the subjects’ backgrounds, the women of the documentary are paid their dues as influential figures outside of their lovers’ shadows. Lee, Ady, Dora, and Nusch could too easily be reduced – or rather, deified – as muses over the course of one summer, but On the French Riviera… respects them for their own contributions to art history. (Ady was the first Black woman to pose for a major fashion magazine, Lee Miller was the first photographer to document Hitler’s concentration camps, and so much more.)
While François Lévy-Kuentz’s On the French Riviera with Man Ray and Picasso might be dull viewing for those unaware of basic modern art history or lacking a general sense of curiosity, the documentary explores both the artists’ transgressive - occasionally scandalous even by modern standards - romantic lives and groundbreaking artworks. Viewers should ignore the uninspired title and spend a breezy fifty-three minutes with some of the most free-spirited and major artists of the 20th century, as this documentary delights in timeless themes of art, love, and the intersection of the two.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
On the French Riviera with Man Ray and Picasso would be suitable for a film collection in academic or public libraries that focuses on the fine arts, modern art, and art history.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Librarians could use On the French Riviera with Man Ray and Picasso for programming about “degenerative art,” modern art, the surrealist movement, Europe on the eve of World War II, and any of the key figures in this documentary.
What type of college/university professors would find this title valuable?
Art, history, and filmmaking professors would find On the French Riviera with Man Ray and Picasso valuable as an educational tool in art history, European history, and a brief overview of the artists’ intersecting lives.