Loving Vincent: the world’s first fully painted film

Starry Night, Café Terrace at Night, Sunflowers, Wheatfield with Crows, as also his own face seen in many self-portraits are some of the most easily identifiable images in the world we inhabit. However, besides his paintings, Van Gogh’s tormented life as well as the mystery that surrounds his death, have also been subjects of discussion.  

‘Who am I in the eyes of most people. A nobody, a non-entity, an unpleasant person.

Someone who has not, and never will have, any position in society, in short the lowest of the low.

Well then, even if that was all absolutely true, one day I would like show by my work, what this non-entity has in his heart,’ are words written by Vincent van Gogh. Intriguing, indeed – to hear such words from one of the world’s greatest artists! But then, most of the greatest art we see comes from the depths of darkness; from a quest of an artist to find his lost soul. 

Eccentric, as artists are wont to be, Van Gogh has been known to cut off his ear and once even shooting himself while painting at his easel.  Considered as a ‘tortured artist’, he continued painting till the bitter end of his unhappy, misunderstood life – which ended tragically and mysteriously on the 27^th of July 1890 by a bullet wound. Was he murdered, or did he commit suicide? The film ‘Loving Vincent’ explores the event, which happened in the small French country town of Auvers. Vincent’s brother, sister-in-law, nephew, sisters, other family members, his doctor, a postman, and a few other friends and acquaintances form a part of the film’s narrative.

“His tragic death has long been known, what has remained a mystery is how and why he came to be shot. ‘Loving Vincent’ tells that story,” says the Director of the film, who she has infused her talent and passion for painting, into the arena of film-making. 

“We painted over 65,000 frames on over 1,000 canvases. We shot the film with actors, and literally painted over it frame by frame. This is a very laborious and time-consuming process. It has taken us 4 years to develop the technique, and it took us over 2 years with a team of over 100 painters working at studios in the Polish cities of Gdansk and Wroclaw, and a studio in Athens to complete the film.”

“At the end of filming we will have 853 oil paintings on canvas that appear in the film.  Additionally, we have 90 design paintings, made in the year before we started shooting, and which defined the style in which we re-imagined Vincent's paintings into the world of film,” says Dorota. “200 of those paintings will be sold over the next few years. The size of each painting is 49 cm x 67 cm (26 ½" x 19 ?") painted in oil-paints, on a canvas board that is 103cm x 60cm (40 ½" x  23").”

Indeed, 'Loving Vincent' - the film, as well as the exhibition - would be on the must-see list of every artist and art aficionado, ever!