Sam Dillemans, The Madness Of Detail

Captivating documentary about the passionate artist sam dillemans.

We know many of the names inscribed in art history and usually we know what history thinks of them, but how much do we really know about them? We know who nietzsche is, we’ve heard of dostojevski and nod in the affirmative when we hear the names richard wagner and vincent van gogh. It might even be difficult to find someone who has never heard of the dutch painter. But are these names ancient history or are they still relevant today?

‘de waanzin van het detail’ paints a portrait of the contemporary painter sam dillemans and tries to answer this question. To dillemans, who lives in borgerhout, van gogh, picasso, rubens or goya are not painters of yesterday but of today. They inspire him on a daily basis and at the same time their crushing genius also depresses him. In addition to being a very talented artist sam dillemans is so a gifted storyteller. While working on a self-portrait in his studio, he talks about his life and his work, how it relates to cultural history, the sacrifices painting demands and how people can learn to interpret paintings.