Artists are known for leading colourful, eventful lives encompassing a spectrum of joy, pain, love, loss, creativity and, sometimes, destruction. Films celebrating art and the lives of artists capture these shades of emotion with vivid realism, drawing upon actual events to produce on-screen drama.
The following art biopics include Oscar winners, edgy, independent classics, and a recent feature about art muse Effie Gray. It includes reproductions of John Millais’ paintings by artist Alexander Newley, who used Winsor & Newton materials for the purpose. ADD LINK TO Effie Gray AND/OR Alexander Newley ARTICLES HERE?
Read on to learn more about five unforgettable art films and the icons who inspired them.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Dutch artist Vermeer only produced 36 paintings during his career, of which the portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring is among the most famous.
The story of this film adaptation was imagined by novelist Tracy Chevalier, who wrote a historical novel taking its name from the painting. Very little is known about Vermeer, so the author conjured up nuances of the story based entirely on emotions evoked by the painting and the few solid facts about Vermeer’s life.
Girl with a Pearl Earring focuses on Griet, a servant girl working in Vermeer’s household, following her as she blossoms into womanhood and attracts the attention of the artist, his patron and a local butcher. As she navigates her maturation, Griet finds herself the subject of the seminal painting and of Vermeer’s obsession.
Basquiat
This heartbreaking biopic encapsulates the booming New York art scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. The story follows Jean-Michel Basquiat’s rise to fame, which began with the artist living on the streets and gaining notoriety as part of the graffiti crew SAMO.
During a very short period of time he went from being a homeless “graff” artist to a darling of Andy Warhol and the toast of the New York art scene, mixing and working with the likes of Keith Haring and David Bowie. Basquiat’s painting was visually dynamic and included cultural references to his Haitian heritage, politics, and poetry.
Tragically, Basquiat never managed to overcome his mental health woes and addiction problems, eventually dying of a heroin overdose at age 27. His paintings are regularly sold for record-breaking sums in auction houses all over the world, and the film, boasting an all-star cast, is now a cult classic.
Pollock
Jackson Pollock’s “splash” paintings wowed and revolutionised the art world. In an industry well known for its overblown linguistics, there are scant words suitable to describe the influence of this American abstract expressionist.
The film centres around the painter’s romantic life and his rise through the ranks of the New York art scene during the 1930s and 1940s. Pollock was torn between his wife, Lee Krasner, who is credited with much of his career success, and his mistress, Ruth Kligman, in addition to struggling with alcohol abuse throughout his adult life.
Marcia Gay Harden was awarded a best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as Krasner, and Ed Harris, who played the painter himself, was nominated in the best actor category.
I Shot Andy Warhol
Valerie Solanas was a face in Andy Warhol’s Factory scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s, when she was keen to gain recognition as a writer. Considered an odd character, her works were thought too extreme for even the avant garde Factory, leading to their rejection.
In reaction, Valerie shot Andy Warhol in 1968 after he failed to return a script she had written, claiming he had “too much control over her life”. Her actions led to lifelong health problems for Warhol and a scaling back of the famously open Factory, where Warhol lived and worked.
The film is narrated by Lili Taylor as Solanas, who gives an impressive performance as this fascinating, troubled character.
Effie Gray
More muse than artist, Effie Gray was the wife of John Ruskin, the English watercolourist, art critic and intellectual. The film follows the story of their loveless marriage and Gray’s romantic entanglement with the French painter John Millais.
The reproductions of Millais’ work used in the film were made using Winsor & Newton materials by artist Alexander Newley, who recreated famous masterpieces such as Ophelia (1851-2).
*All images via Wiki Commons