10.12.24, El Sol del Membrillo (1992)

Madrid anno 1990. At the dawn of autumn, the sun shines for only about two hours on the quince in Spanish artist Antonio López Garcia's garden. A tree with dark foliage and golden fruit. Following annual tradition, the painter tries to capture the majestic light descending on his quince tree, the fruit tree he himself once planted near his painting studio. The painting process is captured slowly and meticulously by filmmaker friend Víctor Erice with the help of cinematographer José Luis López-Linares. The analogies between the two art disciplines — painting and filming — come into clear focus.

Meanwhile, time passes and by December, the quinces have become too deformed to be models. The painter ceases his work. The heroic fight that demands the utmost of the craftsmanship of both filmmaker and painter is also a fight against the passage of time. Victor Erice's art documentary El Sol del Membrillo is a poetic tribute to the power of observation and the transformative nature of art.

This film will be introduced by art history lecturer Steven Jacobs.