7 Art Films You Might Have Missed
As an art history lover, it’s likely you’ve already seen The Thomas Crowne Affair, Frida, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and more, but filmmakers in recent years have become interested in both revealing the more secretive aspects of the art world as well as seamlessly incorporating art into films with other themes. Normalizing issues of art crime, female representation, and highlighting the unconventional is compelling to audiences, and often contributes to a sense of realism within other stories. Providing interesting and fresh perspectives atop other layers of storytelling, these are 7 art films you might have missed:
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
A historical, romantic French drama written and directed by Céline Sciamma, this late 18th century story of an aristocrat’s affair with the artist commissioned to paint her portrait is reminiscent of other tense, moody period pieces like Pride and Prejudice and Becoming Jane. Daughter of the French Countess Marianne and artist Hélöise seemingly inhabit a world of their own, a self-contained universe that explores love’s complexity unthreatened by the presence of men. Breathtaking cinematography combined with shots of Hélöise working tirelessly to capture Marianne’s presence create an overwhelming sense of romanticism between artist, muse, viewer, and film.
LITTLE WOMEN
Greta Gerwig’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Little Women chronicles the lives of the March sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, following the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott. Although the film centers around the events of each sister, their relationships, and their growth, Jo, played by Florence Pugh, experiences a trip to Europe with their aunt which inspires her to become an artist. She sketches in the Jardin de Tuileries, paints in a professional studio, and devotes all of her time to her true passion. In a pivotal scene we see Jo working in her studio, expressing her desire to work as an artist and earn an income, only to gain insight into the struggles female artists faced at this time. Although talented and driven, Jo is constantly reminded by her family that her priority in going to Europe was never to become successful in her own right, but to better herself for a potential husband.
MASTER OF LIGHT
HBO’s documentary Master of Light debuted in late 2022, following classical painter George Anthony Morton after spending ten years in federal prison for drug distribution. While incarcerated, Morton continued to refine his skills and nurture his talent, as the documentary shows works he completed while in prison that decorated his cell. The film follows Morton’s journey into a predominantly white art world as he does his best to find success in an often discriminatory discipline. He makes his way back to his hometown of Kansas City to paint his family members’ portraits, emanating the Dutch masters he so admires. After being released, Morton is a frequent visitor at museums to practice painting from life, but also as a speaker, teaching others about the difficulties that affected him and leading discussions around how the art world needs to evolve.
WOMAN IN GOLD
Maria Altmann is profiled in this film depicting her struggle to reclaim an iconic portrait painting of her Aunt Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustave Klimt from the Austrian government. As an elderly Jewish refugee in Los Angeles, Altmann works with young, aimless, lawyer Randy Schoenberg to take back the work stolen by Nazis just before World War II. The legal battle between Altmann and Austria, who claimed Bloch-Bauer had become an Austrian legacy, went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2004. Depicting the more convoluted aspects of art, international, and copyright law, Altmann’s struggle to reunite with her family’s rightful property is meant to be frustrating. Although the film cannot go into extensive detail regarding the legal battles of the case, it is effective in establishing the damage of Nazi spoliation to not only museums and art historians, but families and individuals as well.
MONUMENTS MEN
Where Woman in Gold depicts the aftermath of Nazi spoliation, Monuments Men presents the damages as they unfold during World War II. The film follows the journey of six “Monuments Men,” a collective of art historians, curators, and museum directors from the United States and United Kingdom whose sole mission was to prevent the destruction and looting of art, architectural sites, and cultural heritage in Europe. During Hitler’s attempt to take over the western world, German forces sought out the finest art and pieces of antiquity for his ultimate collection, alongside destroying the degenerate works he denounced. Claire Simone, inspired by real life French art historian Rose Valland, secretly records the details of Nazi plundering as she and the Monuments Men team up in an attempt to save thousands of artworks.
AMERICAN ANIMALS
If Monuments Men showcases all that can go right in cases of art crime, American Animals does just the opposite. Art heists have been featured in a number of films but none have ever gone so poorly as in American Animals. The film chronicles a partially successful art heist that occurred in Lexington, Kentucky in 2003 at Transylvania University’s Special Collections. Four college students had their eyes on John James Audubon’s Birds of America, but failed and left with a first edition of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species instead. Like most art crimes, the students were tempted by what seemed like an easy task with a hefty reward, only to later find out just how complicated it would be to sell the book. Cut with interviews from the real students, American Animals is an exhilarating, tense, cautionary tale.
CONFESS, FLETCH
Jon Hamm stars in the third installment in the Fletch series, playing Irwin M. Fletch, who travels from Italy to Boston in order to recover a multimillion dollar art collection belonging to his girlfriend’s billionaire father. When Fletch arrives at his rental home in Boston, he uncovers a dead body and subsequently becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Fletch is then left to solve the murder to clear his own name as well as locate the paintings which have become a ransom for his girlfriend’s kidnapped father. Through clever observation and unconventional investigative skills, Fletch befriends quirky characters and scours Boston to find the true killer and lost artworks.