Séraphine

If you’re an art film fan, this is one you simply must see. Séraphine was a French fine artist of the purest kind. Untrained and painting purely out of a need to express an undeniable talent, she was discovered by a German art collector who was visiting the hotel she worked at as a cleaner.

After scrubbing floors all day, the poverty stricken Séraphine would gather clay from the fields and blood from the butcher and use them to create her masterpieces by night. After encouraging her and promising to return, the German was forced to flee France during the First World War. On his return 10 years later he spots the artist’s work at an exhibition, and it is better than ever. The artist herself, however, is not.

As with so many artists, Séraphine struggled to bridge the cavernous gap between the beauty and solace of her imaginary world and her reality, and ended up dying in a mental institution. Her story and the film are inspiring, touching and memorable.

Rating: 4 outta 5.