In 1955, Clouzot joined forces with his friend Picasso to make an entirely new kind of art documentary-one that captured the moment and the mystery of creativity. For the film, the master created 20 artworks-ranging from playful black-and-white sketches to widescreen color paintings. Using inks that bled through paper, Picasso rapidly created fanciful drawings that Clouzot was able to film from the reverse side, capturing their creation in real time. When the artist decided to paint in oils, the filmmaker switched to color film and employed the magic of stop-motion animation. By contract, almost all of these paintings were destroyed when the film was completed.