Born in Wales in 1942, Mr. Peter Greenaway is an artist of such immense talent that I am hesitant to attempt a synopsis of his career. I don't know if I can get across his importance with a mere posting, but I'm gonna give it a shot.

He studied painting in the sixties, this much is certain.
Story goes he landed a position with the COI in the UK (Central Office of Information) where he worked as an editor on films about Britain and it's quirks.
He started to make short films about things that interested him: Tree, Windows, Water Wrackets, Revolution, etc.

He ploughed on with even more detailed works of art on interesting subjects which no human would consider worthy:
Dear Phone, Vertical Features Remake, A Walk Through H, among others. These short films were so self-contained and so self-important that I wonder if he set a precedent. It appears so.

His first "major" work of art was The Falls. It's a description-defying film and I cannot explain it in any way. See it.
It is the most unique film I have ever seen. It deals with single classification and linear importance. Repeated viewings reveal a clinical yet heartwarming style of filmmaking that is all but ignored by everyone in the milky way galaxy.

His foray into feature filmmaking was a bold and staggering expose named The Draughtsman's Contract. Again, all I can say is SEE IT. I cannot describe Greenaway's style without sounding like an idiot. It is so painterly, so genuine, so imaginative and important.

In order to appreciate a man like Greenaway you must park your suburban mind in a spot where you won't be needing it for a while. This man looms so large over the history of cinema (while still alive!) that I feel like buying airtime on CNN and taking the piss out of Hollywood and all of the modern world for the gridiron ignorance of one of our modern geniuses. Greenaway impresses me like no other director. Words cannot do him justice. There are "the masters" of cinema and then there are Masters. Greenaway is a Master. Like Bresson is a Master, like Ozu is a Master and like Tarkovsky is a Master.

If you can grasp that then you can grasp Greenaway, an auteur artiste, one who has a canon that I barely comprehend but know is de facto progressive artwork.