Art

Video documentaries about all art forms

Modern Masters - Matisse

Modern Masters – Matisse episode 2

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Journalist Alastair Sooke sets out to discover just how much the artist Henri Matisse has influenced our modern lives. Tracing the biography of this fascinating artist, and travelling through France, America and Russia, the programme explores some of the painter’s greatest works. Sooke explains why Matisse’s art is considered so great and also looks at how Matisse’s brilliant use of colour and simplification of form continues to inspire illustrators, designers and of course artists today.     Acknowledging the debt the famous couturier Yves St Laurent owed the painter, Sooke also talks to British designers Sir Paul Smith and Tricia […]

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Modern Masters - Andy Warhol episode 1

Modern Masters – Andy Warhol episode 1

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The first in a four-part series exploring the life and works of the 20th century’s most important artists: Matisse; Picasso; Dali and Warhol.     Art critic Alastair Sooke sets out to discover why these artists are considered so great and how they still influence our lives today. He begins with Andy Warhol, the king of Pop Art. On his journey he parties with Dennis Hopper, has a brush with Carla Bruni and gets to grips with Marilyn. Along the way he uncovers just how brilliantly Andy Warhol pinpointed and portrayed our obsessions with consumerism, celebrity and the media, and

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Treasures of Ancient Greece ep. 3

Treasures of Ancient Greece episode 3

Art / 16 minutes of reading / / By

The documentary Treasures of Ancient Greece episode 3 explores how a handful of masterpieces shaped the course of Western culture. These iconic works did not simply fade into history. Instead, they embarked on extraordinary afterlives, echoing through centuries of artistic and political change. Their influence reveals how succeeding generations have consistently looked to ancient Greek art. They found inspiration for their own ideals, ambitions, and even their darkest ideologies, which sought to twist this beauty into a justification for supremacy. This journey demonstrates the powerful, complex, and enduring cultural legacy of these ancient treasures. The story of these masterpieces is

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Treasures of Ancient Greece episode 2

Treasures of Ancient Greece episode 2

Art / 15 minutes of reading / / By

The documentary Treasures of Ancient Greece episode 2 explores a dazzling flashpoint in history when art transformed. In the 5th century BC, Greek artists achieved a level of mastery that seemed to appear from nowhere, sparking an intense period of creative evolution. Just one generation separated crude, blocky figures from sculptures brimming with life, movement, and psychological depth. This artistic explosion, often called the Greek Revolution, saw artists rapidly develop skills that would define the course of Western culture for the next 2,500 years. The sudden, electrifying leap from archaic stiffness to classical grace remains a compelling historical puzzle. The

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Golden Ages of British Sculpture episode 2

Romancing the Stone – The Golden Ages of British Sculpture episode 2

Art / 1 minute of reading / / By

By the middle of the 18th century, Britain was in possession of a vast empire. It required a new way of seeing ourselves and so we turned to the statues of ancient Greece and Rome to project the secular power and glory of the British Empire.     The Golden Ages of British Sculpture episode 2 – Mavericks of Empire   The message was clear: Britain was the new Rome, our generals and politicians on a par with the heroes of the ancient world. The flood of funds, both public and private, into sculptural projects unleashed a new golden age,

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Golden Ages of British Sculpture

Romancing the Stone – The Golden Ages of British Sculpture episode 1

Art / 1 minute of reading / / By

Alastair Sooke reveals the astonishing range of our medieval sculpture, from the imposing masterpieces of our Gothic cathedrals to the playful misericords underneath church stalls.     The Golden Ages of British Sculpture episode 1 – Masons of God   He shows how sculpture casts a new light on medieval Britain, a far more sophisticated, fun-loving and maverick place than we in the modern world commonly believe. But despite the technical and emotional power of these works, the notion of a ‘sculptor’ didn’t even exist; most carving of the time was done by teams of itinerant masons and artisans working

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Masterpieces of Sculpture

Masterpieces of Sculpture

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Masterpieces of Sculpture- this award-winning series reveals the full and fascinating stories behind famous works of art, not just how they were created, but also how they influenced others and came to have a life of their own in the modern world. Whereas other volumes in the series hone in on famous tableaux, this particular volume focuses on famous sculptures.   Masterpieces of Sculpture – Michelangelo’s David      This episode reveals the techniques Michelangelo used to re-create the human body so accurately on such a vast scale, and how contrasting interpretations view it as a symbol of either

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Modern Art

Modern Art – A Complete Guide

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Modern Art – A Complete Guide is a film using rare and unique footage of artists working in their studios and commenting on their work, including Chagall, Moore, Dali, De Kooning, Matisse, Picasso, Giacometti, Duchamp and Pollock.      An unprecedented film by Academy Award winner Herbert Kline detailing the revolution in art instigated by Cezanne that became MODERN ART. Features rare and unique footage of great modern artists in their studios creating and explaining their work with narration and illuminating commentary by Orson Welles. Visits the great collection at The Louvre, the Guggenheim. Illustrates the growth and dynamism

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Hieronymus Bosch

Hieronymus Bosch – The Devil with Angel’s Wings

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

An artist with an exuberant imagination, a painter of the most extraordinay gardens and terrifying hells, a respected public figures of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, and a man of faith – Hieronymus Bosch is certainly the most fascinating and mysterious artist of the Renaissance.      This film sheds light on this forerunner of Surrealism and on his approach. The paintings are brought to life, to help us decipher the symbols and place them in the context of the time, based on the most recent historical research.   Hieronymus Bosch   Hieronymus Bosch – born Jheronimus van Aken; c. 1450 – 9

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Leonardo da Vinci

The Private Life of a Masterpiece – The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The story of probably the most renowned painting in the world. A work three years in the making, Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper remains one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Even over 500 years after the painting was completed, this piece remains one of the most studied paintings in history.      The Private Life of a Masterpiece – The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci   The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci depicts the dramatic moment when Christ tells his disciples that one of them will betray him. From it’s creation in 1495, the

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The Riviera - A History in Pictures

The Riviera – A History in Pictures

Art / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The Riviera – A History in Pictures, two-part sun-filled series in which Richard E Grant follows in the footsteps of artists who have lived, loved and painted on France’s glorious Cote d’Azur. The Riviera – A History in Pictures part 1 : Painting Paradise     Revealing the intertwined relationship between modern art and the development of the French Riviera as an international tourist haven, Grant explores how Impressionist painters Cezanne, Monet and Renoir first discovered the region in the 19th century when the newly built railway arrived there. Captivated by the light and colour of this undiscovered landscape, the painters

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