Van Gogh's life and work celebrated in oil painted animation

Vincent Van Gogh, painted by Robert Glyaczk. Courtesy of Loving Vincent.

On July 27th, 1890 a gaunt figure stumbled down a drowsy high street at twilight in the small French country town of Auvers. The man was carrying nothing; his hands clasped to a fresh bullet wound leaking blood from his belly.

This was Vincent van Gogh, then a little known artist; now one of the most famous artists in the world. His tragic death has long been known, what has remained a mystery is how and why he came to be shot.

Now there is a movie that tells that story but as well as celebrating his life, it also emphasises the richness of his artistic style. Every frame of the animated film - there are 65,000 in total - has been hand painted by a team of 125 artists evoking the same heavily daubed brushstrokes for which Van Gogh is known and loved. See some behind-the-scenes here 

Produced by Poland’s BreakThru Films and Trademark Films in the UK and directed by Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman, the film spent seven years in the making. The voice cast includes Aidan Turner, Saoirse Ronan, Eleanor Tomlinson, Helen McCrory, Chris O'Dowd and Douglas Booth. The score is written by Clint Mansell and Loving Vincent will be released in the US on September 22, 2017.

Watch the trailer for Loving Vincent below