The long-held stereotype of the tormented artist may or may not be true. Maybe perfectly happy people can make really great art. Maybe Shakespeare was going to sing all day, maybe Picasso was unbothered by all those failed love affairs, and maybe Caravaggio just preferred the dark
There has to be at least some truth to it or we wouldn’t have so many movies about the acclaimed artists who suffered for their art. Whether the torture came from the artist’s own mind (Vincent van Gogh, Henry Darger), from addictions (Jackson Pollock, Jean-Michel Basquiat), or elsewhere, it’s safe to say that we might not appreciate the art. if the artists hadn’t. went through what they did.
10 Vincent & Theo (1990)
There are a number of critically acclaimed films (Lust for life, Loving Vincent, At the Eternity Gate) about Vincent van Gogh, who is now one of the most recognizable artists in the world, although he only sold one painting in his lifetime (The red vineyard). Robert Altman’s 1990 film starred Tim Roth as Vincent, and Paul Rhys as his younger brother Theo, an art dealer, who provided the artist with financial and emotional support throughout his life. They exchanged hundreds of letters when they broke up, and their tender, if sometimes difficult, relationship is beautifully portrayed by Roth and Rhys. The film focuses on a number of key events, including Vincent’s quarrel with fellow painter Paul Gaugin and the subsequent mutilation of his ear, and his move to Provence, his eventual suicide. There were many similarities between the brothers, especially in terms of religion and sexual obsession. It’s a movie about beauty and desperation at the same time, and the ways the brothers’ lives mirrored each other until the very end, when Theo died of a combination of syphilis, hereditary health issues, and depression.
9 Basquiat (1996)
Julian Schnabel brought his considerable experience as an artist to his directorial debut, a biopic about Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom he knew from the 1980s art scene. Basquiat is played by Jeffrey Wright, from his days of homelessness in New York City to his explosion in the inner-city art world after befriending Andy Warhol, an absolutely ravishing David Bowie. Wright later expressed displeasure with the editing of his scenes and the fact that Schnabel also put a thinly disguised version of himself in the film, played by Gary Oldman. Basquiat’s estate also did not allow his work to be used in the film, so works in his style had to be created. In some ways, it’s a highly stylized movie about glossy art culture, peppered with stars like Parker Posey, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Courtney Love, and more. But it’s Wright’s portrayal of a vibrant, hugely talented performer who suddenly found himself thrust into the limelight with all the trappings of a fame he might not have been equipped for, who died way too soon (of a heroin overdose at age 27). ). ), which sparked a huge interest in his work
8 Camille Claudel (1988)
Isabelle Adjani was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of the title character, a talented French sculptor whose sanity is undone by an affair with Auguste Rodin (Gérard Depardieu). Claudel was born in the 1860s, at a time when women were not encouraged to pursue artistic ambitions. The film explores the time from her first meeting with Rodin in Paris and their initial entanglement, which led to her acceptance into the art world. But Rodin was already in a long-term relationship and refused to break it off, and once things between him and Claudel deteriorated, she found herself in both financial difficulties (especially after the death of her supportive father) and stopped where she had previously accepted, as Rodin was one of the most famous and influential artists in Paris at the time. Claudel was already showing symptoms of schizophrenia at this point, and her family took advantage of the situation and committed her to an institution, where she remained for the rest of her life. It was a cruel and tragic end for a woman who stood up to blatant sexism to make a name for herself with her talents, and Adjani stars in an inspired, sensitive performance.
7 Amadeus (1984)
Miloš Forman’s now classic historical drama starred Tom Hulce as Mozart and F. Murray Abraham as Salieri, his nemesis. The story is told by Salieri from a mental institution in the last years of his life, still unable to understand how God could have bestowed such a talent on a young man whom Salieri deemed so unworthy, with his frivolous and often rude behaviour. It bothers him that even if Mozart is consumed by alcoholism, poverty and domestic problems, he is still a much more brilliant composer than Salieri could ever hope for. Hulce stars as the merry composer who continues to dodge the elder Salieri’s attempts to thwart him. Upon completion of the masterpiece of The Magic Flute, Mozart dies of exhaustion, which should have finally satisfied Salieri, but he loses his mind after years of vengeful obsession suddenly robbed of his goal. Is it historically correct? Not really. But it’s a masterful portrayal of two artists totally engrossed in their art, albeit in different ways.
Christy Brown, played by Daniel Day-Lewis in an Oscar-winning role, was born with cerebral palsy into a large, loving family in Dublin. Long thought to be simple, it has been discovered that he can both write and paint with his left foot, the only part of his body he can reliably control. In many ways, Brown is perfectly happy, with family and friends making sure he plays a constant role in their daily lives. Family and relationship tragedies bring him to the brink of suicide, but his family once again rally around him. Day-Lewis threw himself into the role with typical methodical enthusiasm, insisting that the film crew move him into his wheelchair and feed him. Roger Ebert’s astute review explains: “It is not an inspiring film, although it does inspire. It is not a sympathetic film, although it does arouse sympathy.” Brown died at the age of 49, leaving behind nine books of fiction and poetry.
5 Phantom Wire (2017)
The only completely fictional film on this list, this period drama once again stars Daniel Day-Lewis in what is currently his final film role. He plays Reynolds Woodcock, an obsessive and very uptight haute couture fashion designer who is really only understood by his sister Cyril (a great Lesley Manville). In an unusual turn of events, Woodcock falls for a waitress named Alma (Vicky Krieps), and the two begin an all-consuming but incredibly difficult relationship, as Woodcock doesn’t like to give up an inch of control. about his refined habits. In this way, the movie is almost more about Alma, and the ways someone who loves a tortured artist has to sacrifice and negotiate to support him, and whether it’s really worth giving up so much of yourself for someone else.
4 Gauguin: Journey to Tahiti (2017)
Like his friend Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin’s work was largely undervalued during his lifetime. In the 1890s, he left his wife, five children, and life in France to live in French Polynesia, where he hoped to evade the restrictions of civilization as he knew it. He falls for a young Tahitian girl named Tehura, producing some of his best work, which was well received when he was sent back to France. The film does acknowledge that Gauguin’s affair with his young muse (who was actually even younger than she is depicted here) was poisonous and predatory, even though it resulted in some of the most famous paintings in the world. Cassel is wonderful as Gauguin, a man rather tired and beaten down by years of illness and the vain pursuit of success, who seems to have finally found the inspiration he’s been looking for.
3 In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
On the surface, Henry Darger was a janitor and eternal loner living in Chicago. After his death in 1973, it became common knowledge that he was also an outsider of epic proportions. Among his possessions was found a manuscript of more than 15,000 pages entitled The story of the Vivian Girls, in what is known as the realms of the unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian warstorm caused by the child slave revolt, along with a large number of paintings and collages that accompanied the text. The documentary makers had to think outside the box to make a film about a man so lonely, who had spent much of his childhood and youth in an asylum for the mentally ill. Thus, the film largely focuses on his mixed media work’s endless fascination with pervasive themes of good and evil, childhood innocence versus adult corruption. The film is narrated by seven-year-old Dakota Fanning.
2 Pollock (2000)
Ed Harris’ portrayal of modern artist Jackson Pollock doesn’t shy away from his problems: Mainly alcoholism and his dysfunctional relationship with his wife and fellow artist, Lee Krasner (Marcia Gay Harden in an Oscar-winning performance.) Pollock’s shenanigans tumble from amusingly tragically. his addiction strains not only his relationship with Krasner, but also his connections to the art world, and leads to his eventual untimely death in a car accident that killed him and the young artist with whom he was having an affair, and her seriously injured friend. However, the scenes of Pollock’s creative process are a joy to watch, as Harris (an old Pollock aficionado) tears through his studio space throwing paint with elated abandon.
1 Seraphine (2008)
Séraphine de Senlis was an untrained French painter born in the 1860s, who worked as a housekeeper all her life. Inspired by a combination of mental illness and religious mania, she only paints at night, by candlelight. When an art critic who employs her becomes enthralled with her art, she enjoys a measure of outside success, but it is overwhelming and her psyche is unbalanced. In addition, her period of financial independence is thwarted by the Great Depression and collectors stop buying her art. Acclaimed Belgian actress Yolande Moreau portrays the sensitive artist with subtlety and tenderness, and it is with sadness that the public learns that Séraphine has been committed to an institution and buried in a common grave, and that her work only became widely known after her death.