The Impressionists (BBC drama)
Encyclopedia
The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution is a 4 part factual drama from the BBC
, which reconstructs the origins of the Impressionist
art movement.
At the heart is the brotherhood of artists, bonded by enduring friendships and their commitment to a new type of art. The story is led by the paintings. Some of the world's most memorable art works are recreated, following the same techniques that the artists used at the time.
The series reveals how Claude Monet
took just 40 minutes to paint his seminal work Impression, Sunrise
in a race against time to capture the light; why Manet's depiction of Olympia, in which his model brazenly gazes out of the canvas, so outraged Parisian society; and how Cézanne's 60 paintings of one mountain, Montagne Saint-Victoire
, laid the foundations for Cubism
and modern art
.
Julian Glover
plays 80-year-old Monet, the "father of Impressionism
" and narrator of the series. He undertakes a nostalgic but painful journey as he looks back on his past life in an interview with a journalist at his garden in Giverny
.
He remembers arriving as a young man in Paris
in 1862 full of dreams about a new kind of art. Young Monet
, played by Richard Armitage
, leads the group of friends with his vision for paintings that capture the images, energy and light of the modern world.
In the drama, Monet describes his fellow artists and supporters with whom he struggled and shared so much:
Bazille, played by James Lance
, the little known genius who died too soon to enjoy the movement's success; Renoir
, played by Charlie Condou
, an irrepressible lover and painter of women; Manet
, played by Andrew Havill
whose work was Monet's first inspiration, but was censored by society; Degas, played by Aden Gillett
, who captured the back stage reality of the ballet world; Cézanne, played by Will Keen
, whose innovative work determined the path of modern art. Amanda Root
plays Alice Hoschedé, Monet's great love.
Using quotes from the primary sources, the series depicts the characters' idiosyncrasies—Cézanne's hatred of barking dogs, his mistress Hortense's love of lemonade, Monet's flamboyant dress sense and Degas' irritability.
and Normandy
, at Monet's garden at Giverny
, and in locations in the UK.
The series was filmed with the Panasonic SDX 900 DVCPRO 50 professional camcorder in widescreen 25fps progressive mode.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, which reconstructs the origins of the Impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
art movement.
Narrative
Based on archive letters, records and interviews from the time, the series records the lives of the artists who were to transform the art world. A tale of poverty and of a struggle for recognition, set against a backdrop of war and revolution.At the heart is the brotherhood of artists, bonded by enduring friendships and their commitment to a new type of art. The story is led by the paintings. Some of the world's most memorable art works are recreated, following the same techniques that the artists used at the time.
The series reveals how Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
took just 40 minutes to paint his seminal work Impression, Sunrise
Impression, Sunrise
Impression, Sunrise is a painting by Claude Monet. It gave rise to the name of the Impressionist movement.-History:...
in a race against time to capture the light; why Manet's depiction of Olympia, in which his model brazenly gazes out of the canvas, so outraged Parisian society; and how Cézanne's 60 paintings of one mountain, Montagne Saint-Victoire
Montagne Sainte-Victoire
Montagne Sainte-Victoire — in Provençal Occitan: Venturi / Santa Venturi according to classical orthography and Ventùri / Santo Ventùri according to Mistralian orthography — is a limestone mountain ridge in the south of France which extends over 18 kilometres between the départements of...
, laid the foundations for Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
and modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
.
Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
plays 80-year-old Monet, the "father of Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
" and narrator of the series. He undertakes a nostalgic but painful journey as he looks back on his past life in an interview with a journalist at his garden in Giverny
Giverny
Giverny is a commune in the Eure department in north-western France. It is best known as the location of Claude Monet's garden and home.-Location:Giverny sits on the "right bank" of the River Seine where the river Epte meets the Seine...
.
He remembers arriving as a young man in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1862 full of dreams about a new kind of art. Young Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
, played by Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage is an English actor famous for his roles as John Thornton in North and South, Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood, and Lucas North in Spooks...
, leads the group of friends with his vision for paintings that capture the images, energy and light of the modern world.
In the drama, Monet describes his fellow artists and supporters with whom he struggled and shared so much:
Bazille, played by James Lance
James Lance
James Lance is a British actor who is best known for his appearances in a number of British comedy series. James Lance attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School...
, the little known genius who died too soon to enjoy the movement's success; Renoir
Renoir
-People with the surname Renoir :* Pierre-Auguste Renoir , French painter* Pierre Renoir , French actor and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir* Jean Renoir , French film director and son of Pierre-Auguste Renoir...
, played by Charlie Condou
Charlie Condou
Charlie Lomax David Condou is an English actor and Guardian columnist who is best known for his role as Marcus Dent in the British soap opera, Coronation Street....
, an irrepressible lover and painter of women; Manet
Manet
-MANET as an abbreviation:*MANET is a mobile ad hoc network, a self-configuring mobile wireless network.*MANET database or Molecular Ancestry Network, bioinformatics database-People with the surname Manet:*Édouard Manet, a 19th-century French painter....
, played by Andrew Havill
Andrew Havill
-Life and career:Havill has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and at the National Theatre, and was in The Woman in Black in London's West End...
whose work was Monet's first inspiration, but was censored by society; Degas, played by Aden Gillett
Aden Gillett
John Aden Gillett is a British actor best known for playing the role of Jack Maddox on the popular BBC series The House of Eliott....
, who captured the back stage reality of the ballet world; Cézanne, played by Will Keen
Will Keen
Will Keen is an English actor. He is also a trustee of the James Menzies Kitchen Award, an award set up for young theatre directors in memory of the director with whom Keen collaborated early in his career...
, whose innovative work determined the path of modern art. Amanda Root
Amanda Root
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actor and a former voice actor for children's programmes.Root known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion and the British TV comedy All About Me, as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004 and when she was a...
plays Alice Hoschedé, Monet's great love.
Using quotes from the primary sources, the series depicts the characters' idiosyncrasies—Cézanne's hatred of barking dogs, his mistress Hortense's love of lemonade, Monet's flamboyant dress sense and Degas' irritability.
Production
The film was shot on location in ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
and Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, at Monet's garden at Giverny
Giverny
Giverny is a commune in the Eure department in north-western France. It is best known as the location of Claude Monet's garden and home.-Location:Giverny sits on the "right bank" of the River Seine where the river Epte meets the Seine...
, and in locations in the UK.
The series was filmed with the Panasonic SDX 900 DVCPRO 50 professional camcorder in widescreen 25fps progressive mode.