Inspired “to raise ... perhaps undignified cheers,” the author pointed to the film's “courageous indifference to ‘romance,’ in the cheap Hollywood sense, its surprising, rather foreign awareness of the facts of life, and its resolute hewing to a line of individual integrity and character”.

[8] In her 15 March 1937, “Shots and Angles” column in Maclean's, Ann Ross recommended the “dignified, informative and beautifully acted picture.”[9] Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, describing it as "a series of unrelated tableaux".

Greene gave some praise for the acting of Laughton and Lanchester, but condemned the direction stating "I have called the film reverent, but pompous, I fear, would be nearer the mark.

Laughton... is on fine form... the cinematography by Georges Périnal elegantly captures not just the painter’s life and times but also replicates the immersive, shadowy textures of his canvasses.

Though the film only has a slight plot and there’s not much dramatic tension, it has a grand visual style.”[15] Rotten Tomatoes lists a 75% rating, based on 8 reviews, for an average of 7.1/10.