The Draughtsman's Contract + Live Performance | Instruments of Desire

Set in a richly exaggerated 17th-century England, Peter Greenaway’s sumptuous and sensuously charged brainteaser catapulted him to the forefront of international art cinema. Adorned with intricate wordplay, extravagant costumes and opulent photography, Greenaway’s first narrative feature weaves a labyrinthine mystery around the maxim “draw what you see, not what you know.” An aristocratic wife (Janet Suzman) commissions a young, cocksure draughtsman (Anthony Higgins) to sketch her husband’s property while he is away—in exchange for a fee, room and board, and one sexual favor for each of the twelve drawings. As the draughtsman becomes more entrenched in the devious schemings in this seemingly idyllic country home, curious details emerge in his drawings that may reveal a murder.

Michael Nyman’s mesmerising score transforms the music of Baroque composer Henry Purcell through minimalist repetition, adding layers over time that mirror the gradual elaboration of the draughtsman’s drawings. Bolstered by Curtis Clark’s stunning cinematography, The Draughtsman’s Contract is a luscious cinematic banquet for eye, ear and mind.

Screening to open with a selection of works by Henry Purcell arranged for recorder quartet, performed by the New York Recorder Guild.