ARTIFICE IN DEPTH: THE EVOLUTION OF PROFONDEUR DE CHAMP IN JEAN RENOIR'S THE GOLDEN COACH The ideal response to the problem posed by colour is to completely avoid […] the vérité extérieure and work entirely in studio décor. [… ] The vérité intérieure is often hidden behind a purely artificial environment.(1)- Jean Renoir […] Realism in art can only be achieved through artifice.(2)- André Bazin The Golden Coach (1953), filmed in the aftermath of Renoir's American experience and the production of The River, can appear somewhat anomalous within the context of his career: the deep, singular hues of the Indian environment and the British family's residence in The River (1951 [cf. Figs. A - B]) are sacrificed for the multicoloured commedia dell'arte costumes worn by Camilla and the rest of the theatre troupe....
