BBC - The Impressionists: Miniseries (2006)

The lavish BBC production as seen on public television. Rivalries, romance, and a struggle for recognition – a unique insight into the world of the Impressionist painters in a fascinating factual drama for BBC ONE.
The French Impressionists' struggle for recognition in the face of massive hostility from the 19th Century art world is brought vividly to life in this sumptuous drama. The delicacy of Monet's water lilies and Degas' exquisite ballerinas contrast sharply with the real story which involved huge controversy, poverty, scandal and rivalries between a group of like-minded artists.
Looking back on his life in 1920, Claude Monet (Julian Glover) recalls the story of the Impressionists - a movement that shook the foundation of the art world. He and fellow painters Auguste Renoir and Frederic Bazille begin a forty-year struggle against the Salon, the annual state art exhibition of the Paris art establishment. Overcoming criticism, poverty and misfortune, Monet along with his counterparts eventually achieve the success they only dreamt was possible.
Richly woven with quotes from the primary sources, the series captures characters' idiosyncrasies – Cezanne's hatred of barking dogs, his mistress Hortense's love of lemonade, Monet's flamboyant dress sense and Degas' irritability – to bring the story of the Impressionists to life.
The story is based on original letters and interviews with Claude Monet. The Impressionists is beautifully shot on location in Provence and Normandy - at Monet's garden at Giverny, and in locations in the UK.

Cast: Julian Glover, Richard Armitage, Michael Mueller, Charlie Condou, James Lance, Aden Gillett, Andrew Havill, Will Keen.

Written by Sarah Woods and Colin Swash ; Produced and directed by Tim Dunn and Mary Downes

Part 1:
Claude Monet's recollections of his friendship with fellow artists Manet, Degas and Cezanne begin this sumptuous dramatised history of the Impressionist movement. Their paintings are so familiar to our eyes, but they caused riots when they first appeared in Paris in the late 19th century. Young and enthusiastic, Monet leaves his coastal home for the bohemian cafe society of 19th century Paris to study painting in the studio of Charles Gleyre. His early years in the capital are a struggle against poverty and the rigid conservatism of the Parisian art world. However Monet forms friendships that will support and inspire him for the rest of his life – with his fellow students at the studio, Frederic Bazille and Auguste Renoir; and with artists Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Paul Cezanne. The group's revolutionary work will go on to shake the foundations of the art world. The driving force is Monet. Inspired by Manet's scandalous Le dejeuner sur l'herbe, in which he painted his mistress naked alongside fully-clothed dandies, Monet strives to perfect an art that reflects the real world. Just as the young artists are finding their way, war and revolution tear the fledgling movement apart. Monet and his family flee to London; Renoir spends the war fighting dysentery; Degas and Manet fight for the National Guard. But tragedy strikes for one of them. Bazille's friendship and generosity sustained the friends through their early struggles, but he is never to enjoy the movement's success.

Part 2:
In the second episode of The Impressionists, the war is over, but the artists continue to struggle to show their work at the Salon, now controlled by the arch-traditionalist the Marquis de Chennevieres. Their work is ridiculed; the Marquis even describes Renoir's Parisian Women in Algerian Dress as suitable only for a "latrine". The young painters prepare for their first exhibition but it seems Paris is not ready for their new style. In memory of Bazille, who first hatched the plan, the artists decide to stage their own exhibition, although without Manet who opposes the project. It opens in Paris on 15 April 1874 and includes pioneering works such as The Dance Class by Degas and The Poppies at Argenteuil by Monet. However the exhibition is slammed by critics and shunned by the public, but from one of the insults aimed at Monet's Sunrise, "it's a damned funny impression", comes the name of the movement. Degas becomes increasingly lonely and bitter, while Monet struggles with poverty and personal tragedy. When his wife Camille is struck with an agonising illness, he is torn between the pain he feels at watching his wife suffering and his impulse to capture on canvas the shades and colours of Camille's face as she approaches death. Meanwhile Monet and Renoir have works accepted by the Salon. Just as the band of Impressionists start to receive critical acclaim, their success is threatened by jealousy and petty quarrels.

Part 3:
Rivalries and betrayal come to the fore in the concluding part of The Impressionists. While Cezanne suffers for his art, Manet is awarded the Legion d'Honneur and Monet finds love and creative fulfilment among the lilies of Giverny. After many years struggling with the Salon and the Paris art establishment, Manet's achievements are formally recognised when he is awarded the Legion d'Honneur. Gravely ill with syphilis, he conceals his pain from his friends at the celebrations. He paints his last masterpiece, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, which is loved at the Salon. As the Impressionists start to enjoy their growing acclaim, Paul Cezanne takes the movement in a new direction. Savaging his work as "the cult of ugliness", critics write that it is "painted by a madman with shakes". Even Cezanne admits: "When the people of Aix are stuck for a laugh, they ask to see my paintings." But Paris art dealer Ambroise Vollard bagan to pay attention to his art. Persuaded by Vollard to let him exhibit his visionary work, the world finally starts to recognise his genius. Even Degas, one of his harshest critics, buys Cezanne's Still Life: Glass and Apples. The former rebels are now accepted and applauded by the establishment, their work celebrated around the world. Returning to 1920, Monet is drawing to the end of his recollections. The master of Impressionism has outlived all his friends but his passion to capture the impression of a moment has not diminished as he completes his latest masterpiece, Japanese Bridge at Giverny.