Top 250 Movies Like Giants Of Art

A list of the best movies similar to Giants of Art. If you liked Giants of Art then you may also like: Vincent and me, Vincent & Theo, Never Here, Nightwatching, Rabbit Rampage and many more great movies featured on this list.

TV show

Michelangelo, Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh - the documentary series "Giants of Art" dedicates a film to each of these three artists. Three exceptional geniuses who went their own way and left behind iconographic works of art; which still inspire the art world today.

Vincent and me

While sketching one day, 13 year old Jo encounters a mysterious art dealer who buys a few of her drawings and commissions her to do some more. Some time thereafter she reads a news story about a million dollar sale of some drawings of a young Vincent Van Gogh. She enlists the aid of some friends and heads to Amsterdam in search of the mystery man. Or, should she go to 19th century Arles in search of Vincent himself?

Vincent & Theo

The tragic story of Vincent van Gogh broadened by focusing as well on his brother Theodore, who helped support Vincent. Based on the letters written between the two.

Never Here

An artist whose work involves capturing images of strangers begins to believe she herself is being observed.

Nightwatching

An extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, and the controversy he created by the identification of a murderer in the painting The Night Watch.

Rabbit Rampage

Bugs Bunny is tormented by his own animator, in this successor to the 1953 cartoon "Duck Amuck".

Rembrandt

This character study joins the painter at the height of his fame in 1642, when his adored wife suddenly dies and his work takes a dark, sardonic turn that offends his patrons. By 1656, he is bankrupt but consoles himself with the company of pretty maid Hendrickje, whom he's unable to marry. Their relationship brings ostracism but also some measure of happiness. The final scenes find him in his last year, 1669, physically enfeebled but his spirit undimmed.

Rembrandt

Already a famous painter, Rembrandt van Rijn is commissioned to paint the Amsterdam Archers' Guild. But upon completion of the picture, the men of the guild feel duped, because they don't consider themselves flatteringly depicted in the painting. They therefore decline to pay for the work. During this dispute, the painter finds out his wife is close to death. He finds himself terribly lonely after her passing and suffers from depression until he decides once more to marry.

Rembrandt

This French-German-Dutch biopic on the life of 17th century Dutch master Rembrandt van Rijn is told in flashbacks from the point-of-view of the aged artist. Soon after establishing his career as a painter in Amsterdam, he marries the radiant Saskia. As he makes a name for himself, he can soon afford to buy a large house by teaching wealthy aristocrats how to paint. However, the couple's happiness is short-lived; Saskia dies soon after bearing their son, Titus. Crushed, van Rijn seeks comfort first in the arms of his maid Geertje and then with his second wife, Hendrickje, who gives birth to a daughter. In spite of his genius, van Rijn's determinedly eccentric behavior alienates the very members of the elite who were paying his bills. At one point, the artist's home and belongings, including many of his paintings, are seized and sold for humiliatingly low prices in a rigged auction.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

A thoughtful portrait of a renowned artist, this documentary shines the spotlight on New York City painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. Featuring extensive interviews conducted by Basquiat's friend, filmmaker Tamra Davis, the production reveals how he dealt with being a black artist in a predominantly white field. The film also explores Basquiat's rise in the art world, which led to a close relationship with Andy Warhol, and looks at how the young painter coped with acclaim, scrutiny and fame.

Klimt

A portrait of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt whose lavish, sexual paintings came to symbolize the art nouveau style of the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

During the Italian Renaissance, Pope Julius II contracts the influential artist Michelangelo to sculpt 40 statues for his tomb. When the pope changes his mind and asks the sculptor to paint a mural in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo doubts his painting skills and abandons the project. Divine inspiration returns Michelangelo to the mural, but his artistic vision clashes with the pope's demanding personality and threatens the success of the historic painting.

American Animals

Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.

Anne Frank Remembered

Using previously unreleased archival material in addition to contemporary interviews, this academy award-winning documentary tells the story of the Frank family and presents the first fully-rounded portrait of their brash and free-spirited daughter Anne, perhaps the world's most famous victim of the Holocaust. Written by Dawn M. Barclift

At Eternity's Gate

Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.

A Bigger Splash

A fictionalised biopic about the end of David Hockney's relationship with Peter Schlesinger which was named after Hockney's pop-art painting 'A Bigger Splash'.

Caravaggio

The tumultuous and adventurous life of Michelangelo Merisi, controversial artist, called by Fate to become the immortal Caravaggio. A violent genius that will dare to defy the ideal vision of the world imposed by the Renaissance painters. A provoker that scandalized patrons and institutions, raising the altars the outcast figures he knew so well: drunkards, vagrants and prostitutes.

Charlotte

The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she escapes to the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.

Surviving Picasso

The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.

Defiance

Tommy takes up temporary housing in a New York neighborhood plagued by a violent gang called the Souls. Tommy is waiting for his next assignment as a seaman and though he tries to avoid the gang and his neighbors, it does not work. Soon he is battling the Souls and not only changing their attitudes, but the attitudes of his previously intimidated neighbors as well.

Dreams

A collection of magical tales based upon the actual dreams of director Akira Kurosawa.

Duck Amuck

The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

F for Fake

Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus

In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in her privileged world. One night, a new neighbor catches Diane's eye, and the enigmatic man inspires her to set forth on the path to discovering her own artistry.

Futurama: Bender's Big Score

The Planet Express crew return from cancellation, only to be robbed blind by hideous "sprunging" scam artists. Things go from bad to worse when the scammers hack Bender, start traveling through time, and take Earth over entirely! Will the crew be able to save the day, or will Bender's larcenous tendencies and their general incompetence doom them all?

Incognito

Harry Donovan is an art forger who paints fake Rembrandt picture for $500,000. The girl he meets and gets into bed with in Paris, Marieke, turns out to be an arts expert Harry's clients are using to check the counterfeit picture he painted.

Loving Vincent

A young man arrives at the last hometown of painter Vincent van Gogh to deliver the troubled artist's final letter and ends up investigating his final days there.

How to Steal a Million

A woman must steal a statue from a Paris museum to help conceal her father's art forgeries.

Immaculate Memories: The Uncluttered Worlds of Christopher Pratt

The life and art of Christopher Pratt. 'Canada's most famous living painter' - The Globe & Mail. This is the first feature-length documentary that Christopher Pratt has agreed to participate in. An honest, funny, eloquent, bizarre, and sometimes unsettling account of his life and art, and an extremely important cultural document.

Leapin' Leprechauns

A man tries to build a theme park on top of land that's secretly the home to friendly Leprechauns.

Lust for Life

An intense and imaginative artist, revered Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental problems and frustrations with failure. Supported by his brother, Theo, the tormented Van Gogh eventually leaves Holland for France, where he meets volatile fellow painter Paul Gauguin and struggles to find greater inspiration.

Modigliani

Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne's bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns.

Moulin Rouge

Born into aristocracy, Toulouse-Lautrec moves to Paris to pursue his art as he hangs out at the Moulin Rouge where he feels like he fits in being a misfit among other misfits. Yet, because of the deformity of his legs from an accident, he believes he is never destined to experience the true love of a woman. But that lack of love in his life may change as he meets two women

The Painter and the Thief

When two of artist Barbora Kysilkova’s most valuable paintings are stolen from a gallery at Frogner in Oslo, the police are able to find the thief after a few days, but the paintings are nowhere to be found. Barbora goes to the trial in hopes of finding clues, but instead she ends up asking the thief if she can paint a portrait of him. This will be the start of a very unusual friendship. Over three years, the cinematic documentary follows the incredible story of the artist looking for her stolen paintings, while at the same time turning the thief into art.

Trust Me

An art dealer murders one of his artists in the hopes of increasing the market value of his work.

The Two Mrs. Carrolls

Struggling artist Geoffrey Carroll meets Sally while on holiday in the country. A romance develops, but he doesn't tell her he's already married. Suffering from mental illness, Geoffrey returns home where he paints an impression of his wife as the angel of death and then promptly poisons her. He marries Sally but after a while he finds a strange urge to paint her as the angel of death too and history seems about to repeat itself.

Night Watch

UN agents Mike Graham and Sabrina Carver are sent by their director Nick Caldwell to investigate the theft of Rembrandt's painting, "The Night Watch". The trail takes them from Amsterdam to Hong Kong and involves them in not only art theft and forgery, but the high-tech schemes of Martin Schraeder and his Korean cohort Mao Yixin

The Black Square

VINCENT, a struggling art-thief and failed artist, stole Malewitsch’s legendary abstract painting the „Black Square”. The sale and handover to a Russian Oligarch and his designated art expert MARTHA is set to take place on a cruise ship. When Vincent and his younger partner NILS realise that their principal accomplice will not show-up to provide the boarding tickets and fake ID’s, they desperately overbear two men in order to sneak their way onto the ship. To their horror they quickly learn that their victims are part of the cruise ship’s entertainment act. Desperate not to blow their cover, Vincent and Nils take on their roles as David Bowie and Elvis Presley doubles with varying degrees of success. Despite his best efforts, Vincent’s talents hardly convince the passengers and it does not take long until various crew members discover their true identities and the value of their loot. A wild goose chase for the “Black Square” breaks loose in the belly of the cruise ship…

The Dragon Painter

A wild man and genius becomes a master painter's disciple, but loses his divine gift when he finds love.

Stolen

In 1990, thieves absconded with 13 masterpieces -- including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer -- from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, pulling off the greatest art heist in U.S. history. Rebecca Dreyfus's investigative documentary delves into this modern mystery, piecing together clues gleaned from archival documents, art critics, historians, collectors and informants (both credible and dubious) to shed light on the as-yet unsolved case. Instant QueuePlay Trailer

Final Portrait

Paris, 1964. The Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti, one of the most accomplished and respected artists of his generation, asks his friend, the American writer James Lord, to sit for a portrait, assuring him that it will take no longer than two or three hours, an afternoon at the most.

Waste Land

An uplifting feature documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit. Top-selling contemporary artist Vik Muniz takes us on an emotional journey from Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, to the heights of international art stardom. Vik collaborates with the brilliant catadores, pickers of recyclable materials, true Shakespearean characters who live and work in the garbage quoting Machiavelli and showing us how to recycle ourselves.

Cutie and the Boxer

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

Starry Night

Vincent Van Gogh comes back to life after being the recipient of a magic potion. He finds that his work has become quite valuable, and begins stealing his works. At the same time, he has a hard time getting anyone to believe he's really Van Gogh.

Apartment 12

Alex, a struggling painter, is going through a particularly bad patch. Dumped by his girlfriend and unable to get work, Alex finds his life taking a rare upswing when he moves into a new apartment and falls for his neighbor, Lori. But when things start to go wrong between Alex and Lori, their close proximity to each other proves to have an enormous downside, leading to further amusing antics.

One Bad Cat

ONE BAD CAT is about the transformative role art plays in the tumultuous life of 82 year-old, African-American, renowned "outsider" artist Reverend Albert Wagner. He has been a lightening rod for controversy his entire life. Racism, ego and lust led him to the brink of ruin. Miraculously turned onto religion at age 50, he was inspired by God to paint, and become a famous artist for a mostly White clientele. From a racist Southern upbringing, in his later years his artwork railed against the lifestyles of members of the African-American community, which created as many detractors as champions. Near the film's conclusion, an ailing Albert comes to terms with his checkered past. Was Albert's penitence real and did he achieve redemption through his art?

Humble Beauty: Skid Row Artists

A story about talented homeless and formerly homeless fine arts painters in the worst section of Los Angeles known as Skid Row. People will create art no matter how humble the circumstances.

The Goddess Project

A documentary sharing the stories of inspiring women from different walks of life who are overcoming their fears and making an impact in their communities.

Brush with Danger

A painter, a fighter, both artists in their own way. Brother and sister, forced to flee their home, arrive at Seattle inside a shipping container. Trying to make their way in a new world the pair struggle to survive. Until, one day, an art dealer takes an interest in the sister's painting, and the pair find themselves living a dream come true. The sister loses herself in painting, and the brother seizes the opportunity to express himself, as a fighter. But it really is all just a dream. Conned by her patron into forging a Van Gogh. Purchased by a ruthless criminal with a passion for fine art. The brother and sister soon find themselves embroiled in Seattle's criminal underworld and a Brush With Danger.

Van Gogh: Painted with Words

A drama-documentary presented by Alan Yentob, with Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role.

Paula

Painting is an unacceptable vocation for a woman in provincial Germany in the year 1900, but budding artist Paula Becker is determined to make her own rules.

Gauguin the Savage

Based on the turbulent life of the temperamental French painter, Paul Gauguin, and his compulsive search for creative freedom which caused him to abandon his wife and five children in Paris for a life of contentment in Tahiti.

The Yellow House

John Simm stars as Vincent Van Gogh in The Yellow House, a feature-length drama that tells the moving human story of the most influential and explosive housemates in art history. For just nine weeks, in late 1888, Van Gogh and Gauguin share a home, The Yellow House, in Arles, southern France.

Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence

In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.

Inside the Mind of Leonardo

Inside The Mind of Leonardo is based on the artist’s private journals dating from the Italian Renaissance. With over 6,000 pages of handwritten notes and drawings, da Vinci’s private journals are the most comprehensive documents that chronicle the work of the world’s most renowned inventor, philosopher, painter and genius. Using this precious collection of writings and drawings to recount Da Vinci’s story in his own words, and combining them with stunning visual effects and 3D technology, we re-create the mindscape and ideas of mankind’s greatest polymath.

Henry Miller: Prophet of Desire

The US writer Henry Miller (1891-1980), scandalous and nonconformist creator, hated by the most recalcitrant puritans, was a vilified genius, considered a threat, accused of being a sexist, of consciously pursuing the destruction of every civic principle; but he was also someone venerated as a saint, as a sex guru; and today as one of the most important characters of the twentieth century.

Moominland Tales: The Life of Tove Jansson

The life and work of Tove Jansson, mainly known for creating the Moomins but also a writer and painter.

Mucha: The Story of an Artist Who Created a Style

Czech painter and illustrator Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) ranks among the pioneers of the Art Nouveau movement at the end of the 19th century. Virtually overnight, he becomes famous in Paris thanks to the posters that he designs to announce actress Sarah Bernhardt’s plays. But at the height of his fame, Mucha decides to leave Paris to realize his lifetime project.

Winston Churchill: A Giant in the Century

A new look at the public and private life of one of the most important statesmen in the history of Europe: Winston Churchill (1874-1965), soldier, politician, writer, painter, leader of his country in the darkest hours, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, a myth, a giant of the 20th century.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo: declared a symbol of Mexican national heritage, made into a cult figure by the women's movement, praised by the likes of Picasso and Breton, this film uses images and music to reveal the soul of an icon.

Gauguin: A Dangerous Life

Gauguin’s vivid artworks sell for millions. He was an inspired and committed multi-media artist who worked with the Impressionists and had a tempestuous relationship with Vincent van Gogh. But he was also a competitive and rapacious man who left his wife to bring up five children and used his colonial privilege to travel to Polynesia, where in his 40s he took ‘wives’ between 13 and 15 years old, creating images of them and their world that promoted a fantasy paradise of an unspoilt Eden in the Pacific. Later, he challenged the colonial authorities and the Catholic Church in defence of the indigenous people, dying in the Marquesas Islands in 1903, sick, impoverished and alone.

Tamara de Lempicka—The Queen of Art Déco

Hardly anyone knows the artist, but almost everyone knows her paintings: Tamara de Lempicka, icon of the 1920s. Her art deco paintings of women in cars or in evening dress adorn book covers and break auction records. But who was she? The ARTE documentary by Grimme Prize-winning author Sylvie Kürsten ventures a self-portrait of Lempicka, narrated and played by Nicole Heesters.

David Hockney: Time Reclaimed

He is a major figure in the pop art movement; one of the most popular and influential artists of his generation. The motifs and colors of his canvasses have been widely reproduced, and are now part of the 20th century art pantheon, changing the way we view the world. Hockney is typically seen as an artist who loves life, a good time, glamour and sex. The highly personal and emotional side of his work is often overlooked, much like the intensity and individuality he has shown in each of his successive periods and styles. Through images, anecdotes, and detailed pictorial analysis, this documentary highlights how the renowned painter defies classification and remains mysterious in many ways: an intense, profound, and infinitely passionate artist.

Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided

One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.

Jean-Michel Frank - Tragic Genius of Art Deco

Jean-Michel Frank designed style-defining interiors in the 1920s with the timeless ideal of simplicity. He worked in Paris with artists like Giacometti and Dali, and designed interiors for millionaires like Nelson Rockefeller and Templeton Crocker. The documentary tells of an amazing but tragic life of the innovative interior designer.

Egon Schiele: Between Love and Hate

An account of the short life and the astonishing and provocative work of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele (1890-1918), seen through the peculiar point of view and the critic voices of the women who defined the paramount milestones of his existence: Gerti, his sister; Wally, his main model and lover; and Edith, his wife. A brief story of love, hate, betrayal and misfortune.

Bugatti: A Thirst for Speed

The story of the Bugattis of Milan and Molsheim, the eccentric family behind the brand: Carlo, the patriarch and furniture designer; Rembrandt, the troubled sculptor; Ettore, the gifted engineer; Jean, the unfortunate heir. Art and design. Beauty and luxury. The fastest cars. Races. The need for speed.

The Rembrandt Century: How Art Became Big Business

In the 17th century, the Netherlands experienced an unprecedented artistic explosion: painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals were so prolific that they were able to make a living from their talent alone; so much so that, within a prosperous society, thanks to wealth from overseas colonies and financial speculation, collecting works of art became a status symbol.

A Royal Runaway Romance

Princess Amelia of Bundbury travels across America to explore a budding romance with an artist, only to fall in love with her bodyguard, Grady.

40-Love

Beek, a 22 year-old statistics wiz, believes his Moneyball-esque skills can help rising tennis star Lois Kuzenkova win the U.S. Open.

The Art of Us

Harper Higgins is determined to land a tenured position at Boston Art College, and she’s counting on curating a big art gallery at the university to do so. But when she loses her showcase artist and can find no one else, she turns to her recently-hired dog walker who, unbeknownst to anyone, is a skilled painter.

Prince: Sexy Mother F*****

Genius composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actor and all round high priest of cool. Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016), the Kid from Minneapolis, had an exceptional career in pop music pushing musical and gender boundaries.

Beautiful Young Minds

This BAFTA nominated documentary tells the story of some of the brightest mathematical brains of a generation. Each year, exceptionally gifted teenagers from over 90 countries compete for medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad. The film follows a group of brilliant teenagers as they battle it out to become the chosen six selected to represent the UK.

The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo

Never before has the extraordinary life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo been framed in relation to the full spectrum of the historical and cultural influences that shaped her. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRIDA KAHLO explores the 20th century icon who became an international sensation in the worlds of modern art and radical politics.

Picasso: Love, Sex and Art

Documentary telling the story of the women who fed the life and art of Pablo Picasso, many of whom would find themselves damaged forever by the experience of being his partner.

The Michelangelo Code: Lost Secrets of the Sistine Chapel

Art critic Waldemar Januszczak is on the quest to explain exactly what the Sistine Chapel's ceiling is actually trying to tell us.

Goya: Crazy Like a Genius

Join art historian Robert Hughes for a fascinating journey into the life of Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Using the artist's works as the benchmarks in this biographical profile, Hughes follows Goya from his role as painter to the royal court through his maturity as a war reporter and into his troubled final years. Hughes reveals how the upheaval of Goya's life can be traced through his paintings that range from the fanciful to the insane.

Rubens: A Life in Europe

The Flemish painter, humanist and diplomat Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) was fortunate to be recognized during his lifetime as an artist of genius and one of the most prolific among his peers, making him a key figure of the Baroque.

The Rules of Abstraction with Matthew Collings

Documentary in which painter and critic Matthew Collings charts the rise of abstract art over the last 100 years, whilst trying to answer a set of basic questions that many people have about this often-baffling art form. How do we respond to abstract art when we see it? Is it supposed to be hard or easy? When abstract artists chuck paint about with abandon, what does it mean? Does abstract art stand for something or is it supposed to be understood as just itself?

Robert Hooke: Victim of Genius

The story of how a giant of science was erased from history by the jealous rival Isaac Newton.

Hieronymus Bosch: The Mysteries of Hieronymus Bosch

Nicholas Baum goes on a journey to Den Bosch, Hieronymus Bosch's town, and gives his explanation about what he thinks the painter's works originally meant.

Constable: A Country Rebel

The Haywain by John Constable is such a comfortingly familiar image of rural Britain that it is difficult to believe it was ever regarded as a revolutionary painting, but in this film, made in conjunction with a landmark exhibition at the V&A, Alastair Sooke discovers that Constable was painting in a way that was completely new and groundbreaking at the time. Through experimentation and innovation, he managed to make a sublime art from humble things and, though he struggled in his own country during his lifetime, his genius was surprisingly widely admired in France.

The Mystery of Van Gogh's Ear

Jeremy Paxman joins forces with 'art sleuth' Bernadette Murphy to try and solve one of the greatest and bloodiest mysteries of the art world - why Vincent Van Gogh cut off his own ear in December 1888?

Looking for Modern Art: Rethinking Art History

Many twentieth century European artists, such as Paul Gauguin or Pablo Picasso, were influenced by art brought to Europe from African and Asian colonies. How to frame these Modernist works today when the idea of the “primitive” in art is problematic?

Bill Viola: The Eye of the Heart

Hailed as the "Rembrandt of the Video Age," renowned American artist Bill Viola became the first contemporary artist ever to be featured in a one-man show at London's prestigious National Gallery. This documentary directed by Mark Kidel features rarely seen footage from Viola's own archive and in-depth interviews with the video maverick. Viola talks passionately about his life and the influences that have driven his artwork from the beginning.

The Painter Came From a Foreign Land

In this film, Dammbeck explores his own decision to relocate to Hamburg, West Germany, and tries to sort out his past as an artist. In the process, he interviews artists Cornelia Schleime, Hans-Hendrik Grimmling, and Hans Scheib, who had been core members of the alternative art scene in East Germany. They had all worked together in the 8mm scene and organized or planned multimedia and crossover exhibitions, including Tangents I in 1976-77 and the First Leipzig Autumn Salon in 1984. Each left for West Germany in the mid-1980s. What has become of their former artistic strategies and positions? How do they deal with their past? What is the force behind their art now? And how do they cope with the western art market?

1913: The Dance of the Century

1913 is the last peaceful year before the First World War. However, the artists already suspect the dark times in their works: authors write desperate texts, painters destroy perspectives. Igor Stravinsky's 'Le Sacre du Printemps' is the aggressive soundtrack of the cultural revolution.

Whaam! Roy Lichtenstein at Tate Modern

Alastair Sooke takes us on an exclusive personal tour of the Roy Lichtenstein Retrospective at Tate Modern. Offering an in-depth look at one of the year's most talked about exhibitions, Alastair and guests explore the enduring appeal of Lichtenstein's imagery, debate the controversies around his work and his influence on today's generation of artists and tackle the big question - was Lichtenstein a Pop Art genius and one of the defining image-makers of the 20th century, or a one-trick wonder whose big idea was so powerful he could never let it go?

Rembrandt by Himself

Rembrandt van Rijn has been described as the greatest artist of the Dutch school of the Seventeenth Century. Thoughout his life he obsessively painted a series of self-portraits which now act as a visual autobiography.

The Spanish Golden Age

A journey through the Spain of the Baroque, the glorious 17th century, an unfortunate era of endless wars and political tribulations; but also of great painters and sculptors who created astonishing pieces of art: el Siglo de Oro.

Das Plakat - Die Geburt der modernen Werbung

Advertising: Colorful and projected on a large scale. The new era begins at the beginning of the 20th century in Berlin, Munich and Vienna. Lucian Bernhard, Ludwig Hohlwein and Julius Klinger put the products of industrialization in a new light: cars and cigarettes, fashion and cosmetics. The story of the three exceptional graphic artists and how their poster art revolutionized advertising.

Red

Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant, the artist Mark Rothko takes on his greatest challenge yet: to create a definitive series of paintings for the Philip Johnson-designed Four Seasons restaurant in architect Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Seagram Building. Award-winning stage and screen actor Alfred Molina reprises his critically acclaimed performance as the American abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko in playwright John Logan’s Tony Award-winning 2010 play Red. Molina is joined by rising star Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away With Murder) as Rothko’s assistant Ken. Original Broadway director Michael Grandage returns to direct this 2018 West End revival, the first U.K. production since the play’s 2009 world premiere at the Donmar Warehouse.

The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution

A film that looks at the genius of JMW Turner in a new light. There is more to Turner than his sublime landscapes - he also painted machines, science, technology and industry. Turner's life spans the Industrial Revolution, he witnessed it as it unfolded and he painted it. In the process he created a whole new kind of art. The programme examines nine key Turner paintings and shows how we should re-think them in the light of the scientific and Industrial Revolution. Includes interviews with historian Simon Schama and artist Tracey Emin.

The Yellow Sign

A young art gallery owner, Tess Reardon, is looking for new talent to spark life into her failing business. Haunted by nightmares, she discovers that an artist she dreamt about, Aubrey Scott, actually exists, and she seeks him out. The eccentric painter agrees to a showing of his art, but only if Tess will model for his new work. She grudgingly agrees and begins to regress into a past life from a parallel world, and that everything is not at all as it seems.

The Missing Rembrandt

Holmes goes on the trail of a Rembrandt painting, stolen by a drug-addicted artist.

Upgraded

Aspiring art intern Ana is invited on a last-minute work trip to London by her brilliant but intimidating super boss, meeting the handsome and wealthy William on the plane. Set in both London and New York City, the rom-com chronicles the trials and tribulations of balancing work, romance and following your dreams.

The Price of Everything

Featuring collectors, dealers, auctioneers and a rich range of artists, including market darlings George Condo, Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter and Njideka Akunyili Crosby, this documentary examines the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society.

Sort results by:

X close
Clear filters
...