| The work of Peter Greenaway poses a complex challenge since it ranges from films to artworks and tends to push against the limits usually accepted for both domains. The themes of his work, such as death, violence and sexuality, mixed with games and different kinds of measuring can be polemical. Furthermore, the treatment that they are given eschews well-known solutions, thus compelling the viewer to take an active role in order to enjoy the work. In this study the Baroque is proposed as a key to relating different aspects of Greenaway's work that would otherwise appear chaotic and incoherent. The term Baroque refers to a historical period, but also, and importantly, to a topic that has been given attention by both art and film critics who do not limit the period exclusively to the seventeenth century. The Baroque is seen instead as an ensemble of strategies that have informed the production of different works at present time. The aim of this thesis is to find the basic strategies of Greenaway's work that resulted in different formal and thematic manifestations linked to what has been conventionally identified as a Baroque aesthetic. Film and artwork are analyzed together, with intention of identifying how similar conceptions of an idea can be translated into different domains. |
