Nude Art

In this fascinating and unconventional examination of the creative process, an artist near the end of his career finds new inspiration in a young model. Edouard Frenhofer (Michel Piccoli) is a famous and well-respected artist who lives in a comfortable estate in the French countryside. At the age of 60, Frenhofer considers his career as a painter to be over; he says he no longer feels any inspiration to create, and his last attempt at a major work, a nude study of his wife Liz (Jane Birkin) called "La Belle Noiseuse" (The Beautiful Nuisance), has sat unfinished for ten years. Just as Frenhofer has lost his enthusiasm for his art, he has also lost his passion for Liz; their relationship is polite and friendly, but without enthusiasm. When Frenhofer tells Nicolas (David Bursztein), his young protege, that he no longer feels the desire to paint, Nicolas suggests that he needs a more inspiring subject, and he offers his girlfriend Marianne (Emmanuelle Beart) as a model. Frenhofer is taken with Marianne's beauty, and, with Liz's cool approval, he and Marianne spend several arduous sessions together, exchanging ideas and opinions as Frenhofer methodically attempts to create a final masterpiece.

An artist and his wife hold art classes using nude models. Their photographer friend Pete returns from two years in Europe, and they try to convince him he has a promising career in nude photography. He eventually agrees to try it, but finds that the sight of red hair or red nail polish triggers unhealthy impulses, to the detriment of some of his models.

An artist and his wife hold art classes using nude models. Their photographer friend Pete returns from two years in Europe, and they try to convince him he has a promising career in nude photography. He eventually agrees to try it, but finds that the sight of red hair or red nail polish triggers unhealthy impulses, to the detriment of some of his models.