Sunflowers: The Mystery of Van Gogh’s Greatest Masterworks
David Bickerstaff
Available on ARTS.FILM from June 28, 2024
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, renowned worldwide, epitomize his artistic genius. The Van Gogh Museum grants exclusive access to Exhibition on Screen, delving into the enigmatic allure of these iconic paintings. This captivating journey unravels myriad questions: Why did Van Gogh choose the sunflower? What’s its historical trajectory in Europe? How did previous artists interpret it? What messages did Van Gogh convey, and what scientific revelations emerge? The film takes viewers globally, capturing all five Sunflower paintings in breathtaking detail from Amsterdam to Tokyo, Philadelphia, London, and Munich. Each canvas reveals a distinct narrative, reflecting a turbulent epoch in art history.
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, renowned worldwide, epitomize his artistic genius. The Van Gogh Museum grants exclusive access to Exhibition on Screen, delving into the enigmatic allure of these iconic paintings. This captivating journey unravels myriad questions: Why did Van Gogh choose the sunflower? What’s its historical trajectory in Europe? How did previous artists interpret it? What messages did Van Gogh convey, and what scientific revelations emerge? The film takes viewers globally, capturing all five Sunflower paintings in breathtaking detail from Amsterdam to Tokyo, Philadelphia, London, and Munich. Each canvas reveals a distinct narrative, reflecting a turbulent epoch in art history.
| Director | David Bickerstaff |
| Executive Production | Phil Grabsky |
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David Bickerstaff
David Bickerstaff is an artist and award-winning filmmaker who founded Atomictv in 1997 as an umbrella organization for developing digital art projects and collaborations. His documentary work and video installations such as The Lukhang, Hygieia, Heavy Water: a film for Chernobyl and Making War Horse have been broadcast in Britain and shown in many international festivals, which include the Welcome Collection, Vitra Museum, Onedotzero, Festival International du Film sur L’Art Montreal, and the documentary fortnight at the Museum of Modern Art New York. In recent years, he has been directing and filming a series of short artist documentaries for Art360 Foundation, which offers funding for artists to build an archive of their work.
David has also been collaborating with producer Phil Grabsky at the innovative Exhibition On Screen, directing, filming, and co-writing ten feature-length art documentaries. This popular series is distributed to 63 countries and shown in over 1500 cinemas worldwide. Each film looks at an iconic artist and a major exhibition of their work in world-renowned art galleries. Titles include Sunflowers, Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait, Van Gogh and Japan, Degas: A Passion for Perfection, Michelangelo: Love and Death, Canaletto and The Art of Venice, along with other films about artists such as Claude Monet, Hieronymus Bosch, and Francisco Goya.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
David has also been collaborating with producer Phil Grabsky at the innovative Exhibition On Screen, directing, filming, and co-writing ten feature-length art documentaries. This popular series is distributed to 63 countries and shown in over 1500 cinemas worldwide. Each film looks at an iconic artist and a major exhibition of their work in world-renowned art galleries. Titles include Sunflowers, Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait, Van Gogh and Japan, Degas: A Passion for Perfection, Michelangelo: Love and Death, Canaletto and The Art of Venice, along with other films about artists such as Claude Monet, Hieronymus Bosch, and Francisco Goya.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
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