This film aroused considerable controversy when it was first made and material alterations and deletions were insisted on before it was allowed to he shown. The film in its present form is recognized as a factual portrayal of the life of the famous painter. The life of the young artist is studied against the background of his family. The film portrays the vicissitudes of his unhappy life; the curse of alcoholism, his periods in mental institutions and the final years of degradation leading to his death during the 1914-18.