AN old man remembers. His life returns in flashback, moments distorted by the imaginaton.
Time erases everything.
When the great Spanish painter, exiled to France, surrounded by his family, visited by friends, looks back over a long life, he sees the Duchess of Alba, his true love, writhing in death agonies after being poisoned. He sees himself in the queen's court, seeking patronage. He feels ashamed that he did not stand up for his liberal views in such corrupted company. He painted at night, with candles in his hat. They are warmer.