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Peter Greenaway: The Draughtman’s Contract
1694. The setting is Compton Anstey, the seemingly idyllic country estate of a British aristocrat in the southern English county of Wiltshire. The mistress of the estate, Mrs. Virginia Herbert, attempts to recruit the highly talented but vain and arrogant artist Mr. Neville for a commission. Neville is to produce twelve drawings depicting various exterior views of the estate. At first, he shows no interest in the assignment. It is only when Mrs. Herbert agrees to formalize not only a fee but also sexual compliance in a contract that he accepts the job.
A perfectionist, Neville insists that once he begins work, no changes whatsoever may be made in the areas of the estate where he sets up his easel. However, he soon discovers that this condition is violated from the outset. Gradually, various objects appear within his field of vision, transforming the views of the house and garden into a theatrical stage filled with suggestive props. Neville meticulously incorporates these alterations into his drawings, yet ignores their possible significance.
When Mr. Herbert is found dead in a water-filled ditch on his own property, virtually every person involved becomes a potential suspect…