"To create one's own world in any of the arts takes courage" (--Georgia O'Keefe)

This past weekend, Joe and I watched the award-winning movie "Seraphine," about the life of Seraphine Louis, or ("Seraphine de Senlis," as she became known.)

It's the haunting biography of a French female artist who was a contemporary of Camille Claudel and lived a similarly sad life in pursuit of her art. I'd never heard of Seraphine before, and was positively captivated by her story. I learned about her while visiting Cobalt Violet's blog.

Seraphine is the simple cleaning woman of Wilhelm Uhde, a German art critic who comes to live in a provincial French town, to escape the hectic life of Paris. Seraphine was orphaned as a child, and somehow decided that she wanted to paint. Uhde inadvertently discovers a piece of her artwork and is captivated by its originality and primitive nature.

Observing her throughout the film, it's evident she was born an artist--she surely had no education or training to prod her into art. Her story is a poignant one--I won't give you the details in case you decide to see it for yourself, but if you want to experience a moving film, this is it. Yolande Moreau, who plays Seraphine, gives an extremely moving and believable performance: (see trailer below)