Chris O’Dowd as Postman Roulin in "Loving Vincent." In the film, the postman sends his son, Armand Roulin, on a quest to deliver a letter and find out what really happened to van Gogh. (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Art history buffs, prepare yourselves.
“Loving Vincent,” a star-studded biopic about the life of Vincent van Gogh that’s been hailed as the first fully painted feature film ever made, debuts on Sept. 22. And while the whole “fully painted feature film” thing sounds really cool in theory, seeing it is a whole different starry night.
To make this wildly ambitious film a possibility, directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman recruited a team of 125 artists to study van Gogh’s singular brushstroke in Gdansk, Poland. After mastering his craft, the artists transformed 120 van Gogh paintings into painted frames based on live-action sequences and computer animation.
The painted images converge to tell the story of van Gogh’s extraordinary life and mysterious death. A character based on real-life portrait subject Armand Roulin serves as the film’s narrator and pseudo-detective, retracing van Gogh’s steps and most iconic artworks in search of a plausible explanation for the artist’s contested suicide. In the end, the film features 64,500 frames, which together combine live action and art history into a fluid, cinematic fantasy.
The process of creating the film sounds, to put it mildly, intense. And though we have yet to see the final movie, the stills showing the transition from actor to painted person are simply jaw dropping. The “Loving Vincent” team supplied HuffPost with images of actors including Chris O’Dowd, Saoirse Ronan and Aidan Turner before and after their van Gogh makeovers, alongside the paintings that inspired their new looks. See those below.
Polish theater actor Robert Gulaczyk stars as Vincent van Gogh. (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Eleanor Tomlinson as Adeline Ravoux, the "lively inn-keeper's daughter." (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Douglas Booth as Armand Roulin. "'Loving Vincent' follows the journey of Armand Roulin, son to Postman Joseph Roulin. In the film Armand’s father sends him to deliver a letter to Vincent’s brother Theo, after hearing that Vincent shot himself. Armand arrives in Paris only to find that Theo is dead, too. He is drawn into the mystery of Vincent’s death, as he finds out more about Vincent’s amazing life and seeks out the truth about his death," a description on the website for "Loving Vincent" reads. "Vincent painted Armand three times, and his portrait of Armand Roulin in a yellow jacket is the one from which we took a lead for 'Loving Vincent.'" (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Aidan Turner as Boatman, reportedly inspired by van Gogh's portrait of a young peasant. (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Helen McCrory as Louise Chevalier. "Louise Chevalier was Dr. Paul Gachet’s housekeeper in Auvers-sur-oise," a description on the "Loving Vincent" website reads. "When Vincent van Gogh left the asylum in Saint Remy in May 1890, he went to live in Auvers, so Dr. Gachet could keep an eye on him. In the film, our hero Armand Roulin comes across Louise on his journey to discover more about van Gogh, and she shares her opinions and theories about the artist and his mysterious death with Armand. Vincent didn’t paint Louise, so we decided to use the two portraits he did of an unnamed woman in Auvers, 'Girl in White' and ‘Peasant Woman Against Background of Wheat’ for her character in the film." (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Jerome Flynn as Dr. Gaschet. "Dr. Paul Gachet was passionately involved with the bohemian world of the impressionist artists of Paris," a description on the website for "Loving Vincent" reads. "He was a physician to many painters including Cezanne, and became van Gogh’s doctor in Auvers-sur-oise after Vincent left the Saint Remy asylum, following a recommendation from Camille Pissarro to Vincent’s brother Theo. Vincent lived in Auvers so he could be treated by Dr. Gachet from May 1890 until his death in July that year." (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
John Sessions as Père Tanguy. "Julien Tanguy, affectionately nick-named Père Tanguy, ran a paint supply shop in Paris, and Vincent van Gogh was one of his frequent customers and a loyal friend," a description on the website for "Loving Vincent" reads. "Père Tanguy was a passionate supporter of the ’new painters’ including the impressionists, exhibiting them and often accepting payment for supplies in paintings. In Loving Vincent, Tanguy’s shop is Armand Roulin’s first stop on his journey to discover the truth about van Gogh." (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
Saoirse Ronan as Marguerite Gachet, the daughter of Dr. Paul Gachet. Van Gogh frequently joined the Gachet family for meals and painted Marguerite twice, though her face remains partially hidden in both. (Photo: BreakThru Films and Good Deed Entertainment)
A photo taken on July 12, 2016 at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam shows the weapon which the painter supposedly used to kill himself. Amsterdam's renowned Van Gogh Museum unveiled a new exhibition on July 12 focusing on Vincent's final 18 months of mental anguish before he shot himself in 1890, including the suspected gun he used in his suicide.
Curator of Van Gogh paintings at the Van Gogh Museum Nienke Bakker looks at the painting 'Portrait of Doctor Felix Rey', part of the exhibition 'On the Verge of Insanity', at the museum in Amsterdam on July 12, 2016. Amsterdam's renowned Van Gogh Museum unveiled a new exhibition on July 12 focusing on Vincent's final 18 months of mental anguish before he shot himself in 1890, including the suspected gun he used in his suicide.
Visitors walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
Visitors walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
Workers walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
Visitors walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
Visitors walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
Visitors walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
Visitors walk through an exhibition about the life and works of Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, in Beijing on June 16, 2016. The exhibition, titled "Meet Vincent van Gogh," was created by the Van Gogh Museum and had its global launch in Beijing on June 15. Featuring reproductions of his work and recreations of scenes he painted, the exhibition is scheduled to tour cities across Greater China over the next five years.
A woman looks at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'An Old Woman of Arles,' (1888), during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
A man films a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Orchard Bordered by Cypresses' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
Men look at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Fishing Boats on the Beach at Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
Men look at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Cafe Table with Absinthe' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
Men look at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Montmartre: Behind the Moulin de la Galette' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
Men look at a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Loom and Weaver' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
A woman looks paintings by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Self-Portrait with Pipe' and 'Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
People look a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'Self-Portrait with Pipe' during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
A man films a painting by Vincent Van Gogh entitled 'The Sheaf-Binder' (after Millet) during the exhibition 'Van Gogh in Provence: Modernizing Tradition' at the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh Arles on May 13, 2016 in Arles, southern France.
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