Smart Secrets of Great Paintings episode 10 - Wassily Kandinsky: The roots of "Colourful Life" (1907), just like those of Vassily Kandinsky himself, were firmly anchored in age-old Russian soil. And yet the painting contains all the elements that were to accompany the painter in the greatest revolution in the history of art: the leap into abstraction.This documentary examines Kandinsky's rejection of Western thought and efforts…

Smart Secrets of Great Paintings episode 9 - Eugene Delacroix: As the war of colonization raged in Algeria, Eugene Delacroix was the first French artist to cross the Mediterranean. The naturalism of "Women of Algiers in Their Apartment," painted in 1834, takes us into the calm and simplicity of a harem as Delacroix saw it with his own eyes. This documentary looks at his attempts to…

Smart Secrets of Great Paintings episode 8 - Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun: As the French Revolution approached, Louise Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun painted the queen's portrait in an attempt to win back public opinion. This documentary examines the historical and social context in which "Marie-Antoinette de Lorraine-Habsbourg, Queen of France and Her Children" was painted. It analyzes the work's composition and symbolism in terms of motherhood…

Smart Secrets of Great Paintings episode 7 - Francois Clouet: "A Lady in Her Bath" (circa 1571), by Francois Clouet, bears witness to a period in which the pleasure of the senses and the spirit were caught up in religious conflict. It gave rise to the despotic canons of beauty. Official painter to Charles IX, Francois Clouet is considered the French master of portraiture. In this…

Smart Secrets of Great Paintings episode 6 - Paolo Veronese: In "The Wedding at Cana", Paolo Veronese transposes the biblical tale of Christ's first miracle to the scene of a sumptuous Venetian banquet. This documentary explores the historical context of 16th century Venice, a wealthy and politically stable city in which artists such as Veronese, Titian, and Jacobo Tintoretto were granted freedom from religious censorship. It…