What do music and other arts teach us about The Smiling Madame Beudet?
Our research looks to contextualize the different forms of art that arise in Germaine Dulac’s The Smiling Madame Beudet. In our findings, we sought out information regarding different contemporary movements; furthermore, we looked to connect the artists within those movements to Dulac, who chose to include them in her project.
Two of the popular artistic movements in 1920s France – the film took place in 1920 – were impressionism and symbolism. Debussy and Baudelaire, two artists who play prominent roles in Dulac’s film, are both prime examples of French artists from these movements. Given their popularity and importance to the French art and culture at the time, it makes sense that they appear in The Smiling Madame Beudet. The two works Dulac brings in – Baudelaire’s La Mort des Amants (The Death of Lovers) and Debussy’s Faust – follow stories of domestic struggle and death, two prominent themes of the film. The Smiling Madame Beudet is a reflection of the contemporary French arts.
A collaborative effort between Ben Factor, Tatum Mannion, Isaiah Zeavin-Moss, Kyle Stefek, and Annie Cohen