BBC - The Impressionists Miniseries (2006) Part 2

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 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.

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