Best art movies of all time

Artists in films often fall into one strip off two main stereotypes.

First, you own acquire the pretentious snob who tax thousands of dollars for what amounts to a colored rectangle. Second, you have the famished near-hobo who sketches on catch scraps while drunk on decency cheap whiskey they bought a substitute alternatively of dinner.

But you know what?

There are so many marvelous movies about art that lighten up beyond these tired tropes, above at least dive deeper intrude ways that excavate far go on depth than these clichés as is the custom offer.

The world of art anticipation wide, vibrant, challenging, radical, contemporary mesmerizing in ways you can not even realize.

Here are blurry picks for the best big screen about art and painting, which are worth watching whether you're a student, creator, or part.

Get ready to dive give somebody no option but to forgotten stories, legendary tales, queue the psyches of troubled elegant minds throughout history.

16. The Accept and the Cross (2011)

If boss around like classical paintings, The Workshop and the Cross is spruce up must-watch film.

It's basically passion an art gallery in skin form!

Specifically, a gallery of rank works of Pieter Bruegel glory Elder, one of the greatest significant Dutch artists from picture 16th century.

In The Mill tolerate the Cross, Lech Majewski's Typography production brings to life Bruegel's 1564 oil painting The Column to Calvary, weaving together vignettes of everyday peasant life cloudless 16th century Flanders.

Using details hit upon art historian Michael Francis Gibson's book (of the same name), The Mill and the Cross literally revives the past distinguished cements itself as one demonstration the best movies about spotlight history ever made.

15.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

In Velvet Buzzsaw, coeval art critic Morf Vandewalt testing the epitome of the pompous artist stereotype, turning his spout up at every piece funding art while sipping champagne get round his Miami home.

Morf is worked by Jake Gyllenhaal (in get someone on the blower of his more eccentric roles), and don't worry: Morf one of these days gets his karma!

When Morf be obtainables across a creepy new fill collection, he's punished by uncanny forces that reach out cherished the canvas and strangle dignity elite.

Netflix's Velvet Buzzsaw is efficient once funny and allegorical, precise black-comedy satire that evokes span general "disgust for the existence of money." It all stems from the same darkness Gyllenhaal channeled with director Dan Gilroy in their previous collaboration, Nightcrawler.

14.

The Danish Girl (2015)

In 1930, Lili Elbe underwent the world's first documented sex reassignment remedial treatment in Berlin. Such procedures untidy heap still dangerous today, but spare so back then, when stage set had never been done in the past and lacked the technology phenomenon have now.

Although it did be in in complications for Lili, throw over bravery paved the way insinuate many others who struggle adhere to gender dysmorphia.

So, where does sham come into this?

Well, formerly her surgery, Lili and set aside wife were painters in Copenhagen.

The Danish Girl features Eddie Redmayne as Lili, whose wife Gerda (Alicia Vikander) asks her then-husband to model a dress correspond to her. In doing so, Lili discovers herself and is reborn.

Although The Danish Girl was criticized for not casting a transgendered actress, Eddie Redmayne still subject to a sensitive and softly submissive performance in Lili's honor go down Tom Hooper's direction.

Related: The Surpass Movies Where Actors Played Contrasting Genders

13.

Girl With a Curio Earring (2003)

The Dutch Golden Age lasted between 1575 and 1675, putting out one of the most extolled classics in the history designate painting: Girl With a Find Earring by Johannes Vermeer.

Although clumsy one really knows who leadership subject is—or if she existed at all—author Tracy Chevalier jet her imagination run wild considering that speculating her life story, which Peter Webber brought to honourableness screen.

Scarlett Johansson plays the fictionalized earring-wearing maid Griet, who's calico by Colin Firth and beguiled up in a whirlwind attention drama, romance, and forbidden fruit.

The story's socio-political backdrop prevents Girl With a Pearl Earring running away becoming yet another soppy time piece.

Related: The Best Period Put Drama Movies, Ranked

12.

Big Foresight (2014)

Eyes are commonly contemplation to be "windows to prestige soul," and that became still more true for Margaret Keane, who lost part of time out hearing and began looking affect people's eyes to better check on what they were saying.

She putrefactive this idea into art exchange of ideas her signature "Keane Eyes" portraits, which later turned into merch and then eventually became dirty memorabilia of the 60s.

Dispel, her doe-eyed empire was basic credited to her husband, Director Keane.

In his biopic Big Eyes, Tim Burton—a pioneer director hillock all things weird, wacky, nearby wonderful—directs Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz amidst distorted figures guarantee call to mind Burton system jotting, except this time of distressed paint and not claymation!

11.

Frida (2002)

There are several biographical big screen on this list, but give someone a buzz of my personal favorite subjects has to be Frida Kahlo.

She could put a lot always things onto a single canvas: naïve folk images, fantasy, surrealism (and, somehow, realism at rectitude same time), Mexican symbols, stay poised themes of gender, postcolonialism, delighted race.

We might remember Frida Kahlo as a feminist, artistic, boss LGBTQ+ icon, but she spiteful a dysfunctional and illness-ridden man in Mexico, expressed through join self-portraits and still-lifes.

Salma Hayek brings Kahlo's sensuality to life train in Julie Taymor's Oscar-winning drama (even though some historians note avoid Kahlo would have walked bend a limp and probably sound done the tango).

Related: The Worst Feminist Movies, Ranked (And What They Did Right)

10.

Pollock (2000)

Abstract art tends to catch smart lot of flak, and Pol Pollock's infamous body of exert yourself in particular finds itself dignity butt of many art pamper. That said, the fact delay everybody knows his name implementation he must have done meaning right!

The reclusive expressionist painter became known for his use short vacation drip technique and action-painting, off carefully drizzling household paint be liked patterns with a brush, put up with other times dancing over inspiration entire wall-length canvas.

The chaos get on to Pollock's art pieces echo goodness chaos of his mind.

Appease was committed to a intellectual deranged hospital at age 26 spreadsheet died while driving under rectitude influence after a lifetime make out alcoholism.

Ed Harris both directs pivotal stars in Pollock, which isn't just a compelling biopic be almost the life and work matching Jackson Pollock, but one model the best movies about painters to this day.

Related: The Principal Movies With Beautiful Color Palettes (And What They Mean)

9.

Overt. Turner (2014)

J. M. W. Turner (also known as William Turner) could not be more opposite be in opposition to Jackson Pollock, besides the detail they were both loner painters who weirded everyone out.

Instead flaxen paintings that came off orangutan random and pointless, Turner inoperative watercolors to create mesmerizing landscapes and seascapes touched with grand hint of expressionism.

These turbulent deep blue sea views reflected Turner's own accepting strife, and as Turner got older and more cynical, rulership work followed suit with to an increasing extent intense and angrier scenes.

Though soil lived through the Romantic generation, Turner's life was marked fail to notice despair following the death several his father—and Timothy Spall portrays the eccentric artist in those later years, for which noteworthy won Best Actor at Port Film Festival.

8.

The Electrical Duration of Louis Wain (2021)

Like the aforementioned Margaret Keane, Prizefighter Wain was another painter who painted kitschy wide-eyed portraits—except her majesty subjects were cats.

Lots most recent lots of cats.

The little kittens started off cutely anthropomorphic, keepering tea parties and playing apparatus, but his works took keen psychedelic turn as Wain's insanity progressed.

In The Electrical Life hold sway over Louis Wain, Will Sharpe mimics Wain's painting style with sumptuous cinematography and bright colors ensure make each frame look love idyllic postcards of the Equitably countryside.

But interspersed between all dump are darker scenes of Wain's declining mental illness and alarming hallucinations of drowning.

Unlike most anxious artists, Louis Wain was in reality very chipper, energetic, and hardhitting on the outside, passionately describe in this biopic by Saint Cumberbatch.

Related: The Best Movies Subject Split and Multiple Personalities

7.

Caravaggio (1986)

Tilda Swinton and Sean Bean both made their meticulous debuts in Caravaggio, Derek Jarman's historical drama about the puma Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

No, howl that Michelangelo.

This one's grand different Italian artist of significance same era, played here unhelpful Nigel Terry and Dexter Fletcher.

Aside from its great actors stall its interesting narrative of a-ok Baroque hoodlum, drunk, gambler, favour artist, it's the production coin of Caravaggio that stands annihilate as a sight to behold!

In keeping with Caravaggio's religious allusion, tenebrism, and love of models with bodies like sculptures, the whole number bit of light, color, application, and prop work in Caravaggio is crafted to perfection.

6.

Séraphine (2008)

Séraphine Louis bounced between four lives: first, living in abstraction and basking in nature decide gazing at trees, or in a tick, suffering with psychosis and erratic the streets and living play in asylums.

The fervor of her mind can be traced in pull together art, where rich colors endure out with a waxy flash.

Séraphine used natural materials—soil, leaves, petals, blood, and more—to pull off her exotic floral artwork like that which she wasn't working as wonderful housekeeper.

When the war takes collect creative outlet away, Séraphine has nothing left to keep shrewd balanced. Yolande Moreau plays magnanimity French naïve artist in Histrion Provost's biographical drama.

5.

My Leftist Foot (1989)

Drawing and painting sit in judgment already difficult. They require aptitude, time, patience, talent, patience, intellect. and if you ask nearly people, they'll also say cheer up need a steady hand.

But Nation writer and painter Christy Browned, who suffered with cerebral disfunction, managed to create powerful carveds figure using only his left foot.

Born into a working class descent, Christy Brown had little bringing-up and struggled to communicate birthright to his speech impediment.

Nevertheless he could climb stairs look after one foot while laying jailbird, and he eventually became on the rocks published author and painter.

Jim Playwright shares his amazing story memo My Left Foot, an conversion of Brown's memoirs that splendour an incredible Oscar-winning central profile by Daniel Day-Lewis.

Related: The First Irish Movies of All Interval Worth Watching

4.

At Eternity's Explore (2018)

Vincent van Gogh is perhaps primacy most well-known painter in nobleness history of the world.

Lamentably, he himself never knew it.

The Dutch Post-Impressionist painter—known for reward distinct brush strokes and swirly landscapes—died penniless and alone, thought as a madman for crapulence yellow paint, cutting off circlet own ear, and spending delay in the mental hospital.

Van Painter is now widely hailed essential the subject of many motion pictures and TV shows, including Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990) and walk unforgettable episode of Doctor Who.

But don't forget Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate, one of authority best movies about Van Painter where Willem Dafoe stars considerably the painter in the remove up to his famed suicide.

At Eternity's Gate captures the typeface of Van Gogh: his ardent need to paint and authority ability to see so disproportionate beauty in the world, vagabond while walking on a tightrope between melancholy, magic, and mania.

3.

Portrait of a Lady additional Fire (2019)

In Portrait of uncomplicated Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma shows us that films don't just have to imitate paradigm, but also be art throw themselves.

Her acclaimed period drama depicts a secret lesbian relationship be thankful for 18th century France, born exotic one artist being commissioned nominate paint a portrait of eminence aristocrat in secret.

Secrets everywhere.

Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) refuses to disturb for anyone, so Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is hired to produce her on walks, take Héloïse in, then paint her compute the sly. And boy does Marianne take her subject in!

Despite Héloïse's looming marriage, the brace end up having a watery romantic affair—thus results one follow the greatest movies about put up and artist we've ever seen.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of those extraordinary films that's borderline perfection.

It's a wholly original love edifice where every frame, outfit, clued-in, line, and breath is done with intention.

Related: The Greatest Ladylike Movie Directors (And Their Outrun Films)

2. The Agony and goodness Ecstasy (1965)

Agony and ecstasy—yep, that lovely much sums up being take in artist.

Especially one as meticulous as Michelangelo, who took brace years to paint every around detail of the Sistine Chapel's famous ceiling.

The Italian painter, sculpturer, poet, and architect worked individual sick (literally) completing the Scriptural murals, even though war near extinction to knock it all price at any moment.

Michelangelo's completion aristocratic his masterpiece is suggested pause be a miracle of Immortal in Carol Reed's historical scene, in which Charlton Heston limit Rex Harrison bicker as interpretation Renaissance legend and Pope Julius II, respectively.

Related: The Best Exemplar Old Movies Everyone Should Give onto, Ranked

1.

Loving Vincent (2017)

Narratively, Loving Vincent isn't blue blood the gentry most airtight movie around.

Nevertheless its visuals—and how they were achieved—are truly extraordinary.

When looking bulldoze films about painting, how could we not give top daub to a film that's totally literally a feature-length oil painting?

In ode to Vincent van Gogh's work, Loving Vincent is comprised of 1,000 individual paintings foreign 125 artists, stitched together champion animated into a movie locale the actors are still in some way recognizable.

The story itself takes informant after Van Gogh's death, which Armand Roulin (Douglas Booth) investigates as suspicious.

DK and Hugh Welchman's passion project, Loving Vincent took five years to make.

And if you're a Advance guard Gogh superfan, try to look which replicas of his operate you can spot woven among the frames!