LUXEMBOURG- MATCHBOX MUSEUM
[00:58:42:00] - IN
[00:58:45:00]- Narration
Yves Geraud's keeps his most valuable possessions locked away in the vault of the Luxembourg bank.
This briefcase alone holds a small fortune, which he relishes showing his friends and colleagues.
Working as a draughtsman taught Yves perfectionism but his real passion has always been with art. It's a field in which he has a unique gift: creating replicas of legendary works by Van Gogh, Picasso and Raphael, in microscopic form.
[00:59:20:30] - INTERVIEW 1 - Yves Geraud - architect and painter of the infinitely small:
"I don't know if I'm a maniac, but you know when you love something, you don't think about it. For me, it feels perfectly natural. From the outside, it's possible that this maybe considered odd. "
[00:59:37:00] - Narration
If you share Yves' taste for achieving the impossible and breaking world records, then you're sure to find the contents of his briefcase a delight!
[00:59:49:00] - INTERVIEW 2 - Yves Geraud:
"Firstly, there is the smallest museum in the world. Here there are masterpiece paintings here ...
Here is the smallest gallery of portraits in the world. It includes 19 portraits, including that of Van Gogh ... The smallest Mona Lisa in the world ...
And there, set on a match, a self-portrait of Raphael, the smallest portrait in the world"
[01:00:16:00] - Narration
As you can see, Yves Geraud delights in the world of the infinitely small ...
This version of the Mona Lisa is one third of the size of a postage stamp. Yet making sure the painting was an exact replica of Da Vinci's took Yves 80 hours of work.
[01:00:31:45] - INTERVIEW 3 - Yves Geraud:
"If everything happens in the best conditions, I say 2 hours maximum. Say, an hour and a half / two hours per session. But it's true that sometimes to finish a miniature, to correct a detail I have to work much longer than that, up to 4 or 5 hours "
[01:00:49:00] - Narration
In this standard matchbox, a host of 20th century masterpieces can be found.
A staggering 14 paintings sit within this tiny space, works by Van Gogh, Gaugin and Picasso among them.
To recreate these paintings takes a huge amount of precision and unwavering concentration. The slightest tremor is enough to destroy everything.
[01:01:12:45] - Interview 4 - Yves Geraud:
"The thing that took me the longest time to paint was the mouth of Modigliani. The mouth is very important in a portrait. I put a lot of time into it. In this case I couldn't, because I had to paint on a surface that was only a tenth of a millimetre. Definitely, I spent over 8 hours on a 1 / 4 of a millimeter. "
[01:02:38:00] - Narration
Things are never simple for Yves, the extreme miniaturization of his artwork means that there are always problems to overcome.
Oil paint is too thick, gouache paint is too lumpy...
In short, everything has to be rethought. Yet after numerous attempts, Yves always manages to push the boundaries of the infinitely small further than ever before ...
Making sure that there's space for a signature at the end!
[01:02:08:00] - INTERVIEW 5 - Yves Geraud:
"Yes I sometimes sign my works. So in this gallery of portraits, all paintings are signed, at least with my initials. These are letters that should be around 1/10 of a millimeter. I must sign all my paintings "
[01:02:29:00] - Narration
But Yves Geraud does not only love miniature paintings.
He has a passion for all things miniature ... like this music box, the world's smallest. Built around a thimble, which is only 4 mm in height, it is one of an impressive 10 world records Yves holds. He is also the inventor of the "pocket kicker". The game is as big as a pack of cigarettes and is, naturally, fully functional.
[01:02:55:00] - INTERVIEW 6 - Yves Geraud:
"As you can see, you can even play with balls of just 5 mm in diameter"
[01:03:00:00] - Narration
The key factor to Yves success is clearly patience. Yet surprisingly this doesn't come naturally to Yves!
[01:03:08:00] - INTERVIEW 7 - Yves Geraud:
"Because I am so nervous, painting of the infinitely small is very effective therapy for me"
[01:03:15:00] - Narration
But you won't be seeing any of these petite items in shop windows. These works are not for sale. In addition to their sentimental value, they are all priceless artworks.
[01:03:32:00] - OUT