11 best films about art and artists

"Films about art and artists" cover a wide variety of topics, from biographies about deceased or imaginary artists to documentaries about living ones. However, the best of them can teach us something about the environment they depict or the people who create it.

These films depict artists who are forced to create out of an inner need, whether for therapeutic, spiritual, or philosophical reasons. They celebrate the unique worldview that such people often possess, while highlighting their limitations, from heightened emotionality to a predisposition to mental illness.

At the same time, they explore the relationship between art and the viewer, as well as art's somewhat unsettling connection to wealth and power.
 
11 PHOTOS

1. Torment and joy / 1965 / Carol Reed.

\The film depicts the tumultuous relationship between Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison) and Michelangelo (Charlton Heston), which resulted in the creation of the Sistine frescoes. Harrison's performance is as energetic as Heston's (albeit sometimes over the top), and the monumental sets never fail to impress.

2. Frida / 2002 / Julie Taymor.

Art, politics, and romance are all brought to life in this visually charged biopic of Frida Kahlo. Featuring the compelling and career-defining performances of Salma Hayek and the equally excellent Alfred Molina as Diego Rivera, the film celebrates both Kahlo's free-spirited sexuality and manly resilience in the face of debilitating injury.

3. All Vermeer's works in New York / 1990 / John Jost.

John Yost explained that the title "All Vermeer's Works in New York" reflects both the Dutch artist's unrivaled collection of paintings and his former New Amsterdam identity, based roughly where Wall Street is now. This seemingly random yet strange connection between the worlds of art and money is a good metaphor for the film's plot, which inhabits a place where beauty, chance, and love meet greed, power, and materiality.

4. Lust for Life / 1956 / Vincente Minelli, George Cukor.

Lust for Life is a typical Hollywood biopic about a typical tortured artist. Kirk Douglas plays Vincent van Gogh, who leaves his Dutch homeland for Paris to live with his brother Theo, played by James Donald.

5. Cinematographer (Camera Buff) / 1979 / Krzysztof Kieślowski.

There are many excellent films about filmmaking, the so-called "seventh art" as the French say. These films often highlight the collaborative aspect that has come to define the filmmaking process since the advent of the Hollywood studio system. Camera Buff instead proposes a vision of filmmaking as the purely personal work of a lone artist.

6. An American in Paris / 1951 / Vincent Minelli.

The musical unfolds against the backdrop of magnificent reproductions of Parisian locations, culminating in an extended ballet inspired by famous French paintings. An American in Paris looks like an extravagant love letter from Hollywood to Paris.

7. Blood of the poet / 1930 / Jean Cocteau.

Jean Cocteau's The Poet's Blood is dedicated to art and artists, like a surreal film. Described as a "group of allegories", the film is composed of four separate parts that deal with the theme of danger and turmoil inherent in artistic life. In the first passage, the Poet is painting on his easel, while the Battle of Fontenoy is raging outside.

8. My left leg / 1989 / Jim Sheridan.

Backed by stellar performances and a remarkable true story, My Left Foot: Christy Brown's story is an inspirational tribute to the life of an Irish artist and writer who lived with severe cerebral palsy. Daniel Day-Lewis handles Christy's intimidating role with surprising persuasiveness, without being afraid to hint at the less savory aspects of his personality.

9. F as a fake (F for Fake) / 1973 / Orson Welles.

Based on François Reichenbach's documentary footage of art forger Elmira de Hory, interviews with de Hory's biographer and fraudster Clifford Irving, newsreels, and video footage, Orson Welles and his girlfriend Oya Kodar came up with this ingenious but incoherent idea of authorship, art, etc. d.

10. Contract draftsman / 1982 / Peter Greenaway.

Set in 17th-century Britain, it includes Michael Nyman's parody of Purcell's parcel. It follows the rogue artist Mr. Neville (Anthony Higgins), who is hired by wealthy matriarch Mrs. Herbert (Janet Suzman) to paint the grounds of the estate. while her husband is away on business. A contract is drawn up, stipulating that Mr. Neville must also fulfill Mrs. Herbert's demands in the bedroom if he expects to receive his money.

11. The color of pomegranate / 1969 / Sergei Parajanov.

The filmography of Sergei Parajanov spans three cultures. A Soviet citizen, he was born in Georgia to an Armenian family and lived in Ukraine for many years. His second "official" film "The Color of Pomegranate" is a cinematic portrait of Sayat-Nova, an outstanding Armenian poet and musician of the 18th century.