In Gauguin’s shadow: Charles Strickland, music for a fictional painter in Soberbia (Albert Lewin, 1942)

Abstract

Soberbia (Albert Lewin, 1942) is the first biopic, albeit fictitious, about a contemporary artist. Based on Somerset Maughan’s novel The moon and sixpence (1919), it tells the story of painter Charles Strickland, whose life and work are inspired by Gauguin. The main attraction of the film is the portrayal of the artist as someone eccentric, whose genius opposed the establishment. This issue is reflected in the various elements that make up the film universe. Dimitri Tiomkin’s music is one of the most important due to its ability to unravel the deepest emotions of the subconscious. Its analysis brings new nuances to those already studied on this production, as well as to the reflections on the vision of the artist figure in cinema.