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I love it when I watch a movie that just looks interesting,

and then it opens up a new world to me.

I just watched the French film Seraphine and know this one will stick with me. I started the movie not really even aware that it was based on an actual artist (I actually paused the film and Googled her to be sure it was).

Seraphine was a housekeeper; poor, relatively unattractive, bland and forgettable. But she had a secret, in the evenings she painted. She was first discovered by German art critic and dealer Wilhelm Uhde who encouraged her to keep painting.

The first World War interrupted her path to fame when Uhde had to leave the area, concerned about his safety. She labored on in poverty continuing to paint with the supplies she made or doled out her pennies for. Eventually, Uhde reentered her life and better financial times followed.

She ended up sinking into mental illness and being hospitalized for the rest of her life. There is some disagreement on the date of her death. Udhe reported that it was in 1934, but other sources state is was in 1942. I believe that it was the later date as it was probably more profitable to Udhe to say 1934 to avoid the mental illness/hospitalization issue.

Seraphine won 7 Cesar awards (French Oscars) including the award for best film.