Loving Vincent (still)
By Artist Collective, 2017
Here we see a portrait inspired by Vincent van Gogh, brought to life in his own swirling style. This image comes from "Loving Vincent," a 2017 film that holds a special place in cinema history as the first fully painted feature film. Every single frame was hand painted in oils by a team of more than 100 artists, who together created over 65,000 individual paintings to tell the story of Van Gogh's final days.
The background here is a clear nod to Van Gogh's famous technique, with those rolling, restless brushstrokes that recall masterpieces like "The Starry Night." The blues and greens seem to move and breathe around the figure, giving the whole scene a sense of energy and emotion. It is a fitting tribute, since the artists chose to paint in the very manner of the man being honored.
What makes this project so touching is its devotion to detail. The filmmakers based many scenes and characters on Van Gogh's actual paintings, weaving his real artworks into the fabric of the story. The result is both a movie and a moving gallery, a reminder that Van Gogh, who sold almost nothing in his lifetime, would one day inspire an army of painters to recreate his vision frame by frame.