Tag Archives: art documentary

the painter and her times (documentary – Mary Cassatt: Painting the Modern Woman – Ali Ray, 2023)

I have already written on numerous occasions that the ‘Exhibition on Screen’ series of art documentaries initiated by Phil Grabsky (who also conceived and produced many of the episodes) is the most important cinematic event dedicated to the visual arts … Continue reading

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the loneliness of the artist (documentary: Hopper – An American Love Story – Phil Grabsky, 2022)

I’m a big fan of the ‘Exhibition on Screen’ series of art films. Since 2012 it has given me the opportunity to visit many of the most important art exhibitions or collections of the great museums of the world without … Continue reading

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a failed art essay (documentary: Francofonia – Alexandr Sokurov, 2015)

I confess that I am not a big fan of Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov. Many consider him the greatest Russian director of the 21st century and Tarkovsky‘s successor on Earth. I wasn’t at all excited (euphemism!) About ‘Russian Ark‘, I … Continue reading

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Goya’s portraits (documentary: ‘Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood’ – David Bickerstaff, 2015)

About one third of the works left to posterity by Francisco Goya were portraits. He was one of the most outstanding portraitists in the history of fine arts and many of his works in this genre represent formidable artistic creations … Continue reading

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surprising Renoir (documentary: Exhibition on Screen: Renoir – Reviled and Revered – Phil Grabsky, 2016)

We have the chance to see the films from the ‘Exhibition on Screen’ series at our local cinematheque. Yesterday we had the pleasure not only of watching the documentary ‘Exhibition on Screen: Renoir – Reviled and Revered‘, but also of … Continue reading

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like being there … or better (Documentary: Exhibition on Screen: David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts – Phil Grabsky, 2017)

Often, when we want to tell or write appreciatively about an art documentary film that describes an exhibition or a museum, we use the expression – ‘watching the film is similar / second best to the experience of visiting the … Continue reading

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Clouzot films Picasso (Film: Le mystère Picasso – Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1956)

Pablo Picasso and a few other important artists of the 20th century (Constantin Brancusi is another example) had a love affair mixed with fascination with the photographic and film cameras. They recognized them as a means of artistic expression and … Continue reading

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youth of a genius (Film: Young Picasso – Phil Grabsky, 2019)

1907 was an ‘annus mirabilis’ (a wonderful year) in the history of art and in the life of Pablo Picasso. It was the year when Picasso painted ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’, a painting that overturned all the traditional conceptions of composition, … Continue reading

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portraits and letters (Film: Cézanne, Portraits of a Life – Phil Grabsky, 2018)

Paul Cezanne’s life can be divided into two very different periods. Born in 1839 in a prosperous family, with a banker father, he chose a life and artistic career very different from the expectations of the bourgeois environment. All his … Continue reading

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the final cuts (documentary: Matisse Live – Phil Grabsky, 2014)

The ‘Exhibition on Screen‘ series gave us yesterday the opportunity to watch at the local cinematheque the great exhibition of Matisse’s works in the final decade of his life, organized five years ago by Tate Modern in London and MoMA … Continue reading

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