Another elegantly made and thoroughly informative art-history documentary from Phil Grabsky, the latest in the Exhibition on Screen series. Although Grabsky is a past master in the mini-genre of gallery films, this one doesn’t seem linked to a particular show or collection, but rather juxtaposes excerpts from Monet’s letters with the paintings he was working on at the time. What emerges is a portrait of an artist who withstood his fair share of privation and discouragement – the passages around the birth of his children and death of his first wife are particularly tough – but who displayed an unswerving commitment to his work. It humanises a figure who has become somewhat devalued by the haze of modern-day blockbuster art shows. A graceful film that suggests there’s passion beneath the beautiful surface.
