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Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 4 - West Africa

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 4 – West Africa

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 4 – West Africa: Gus Casely-Hayford travels to Nigeria and Mali to explore the story behind a series of magnificent 16th-century bronzes made in the ancient kingdom of Benin. Four-part series in which British art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores the pre-colonial history of some of Africa’s most important kingdoms. The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth.     But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades […]

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Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 3 - Great Zimbabwe

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 3 – Great Zimbabwe

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 3 – Great Zimbabwe: Gus Casely-Hayford explores the history of Great Zimbabwe, a symbol of African genius which gives an insight into the empires which once dominated southern Africa.     Four-part series in which British art historian Dr Gus Casely-Hayford explores the pre-colonial history of some of Africa’s most important kingdoms. The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth. But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades,

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Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 2 - Ethiopia

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 2 – Ethiopia

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 2 – Ethiopia: Art historian Gus Casely-Hayford explores the history of the old African kingdom of Ethiopia, which ended when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the military in 1974.     The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth. But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades, researchers and archaeologists have begun to uncover a range of histories as impressive and extraordinary as anywhere else in the

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Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 1 - Nubia

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 1 – Nubia

Lost Kingdoms of Africa episode 1 – Nubia: Art historian Gus Casely-Hayford explores the history of the old African kingdom of Nubia, whose kings once ruled Egypt and which was eventually defeated by its environment.     The African continent is home to nearly a billion people. It has an incredible diversity of communities and cultures, yet we know less of its history than almost anywhere else on earth. But that is beginning to change. In the last few decades, researchers and archaeologists have begun to uncover a range of histories as impressive and extraordinary as anywhere else in the

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Rebuilding Notre-Dame episode 2

Rebuilding Notre-Dame episode 2

Rebuilding Notre-Dame episode 2: Three years after the devastating fire, Lucy Worsley has exclusive access to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris at a key turning point of the restoration. Work to rebuild and restore the monument is being ramped up in a bid to meet the ambitious deadline to reopen it to the public in 2024.     Visiting Notre-Dame aged 16 inspired Lucy to work with historical buildings; this is a once-in-a-career opportunity to witness the rebirth of an icon close to her heart. Scaffolding now fills the interior of the cathedral, giving Lucy and the team unprecedented

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Rebuilding Notre-Dame episode 1

Rebuilding Notre-Dame episode 1

Rebuilding Notre-Dame episode 1: Documentary that goes inside what remains of the world-famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is one year since the inferno devastated the vast timber and lead roof and the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece is still perilously close to collapse. Now, we follow the men and women fighting to secure the fire-ravaged structure. Lead dust from the vaporised roof contaminates the site, the stone ceiling is crumbling and a 500-tonne melted mass of scaffolding still hangs precariously over the cathedral, triggering alarms and evacuations.     Now that the cathedral walls are supported by giant timber frames, chief

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Sagrada Familia the Gaudi Revolution

Sagrada Familia the Gaudi Revolution

Sagrada Familia the Gaudi Revolution: Gaudi left us a spectacular work. An unfinished creation: the Sagrada Familia. A huge, senseless cathedral project, whose rules and spirit must be understood in order to be completed. A challenge that has occupied the successors of the great Catalan architect for more than a century.     The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família also known as the Sagrada Família, is a large unfinished minor basilica in the Eixample district of Barcelona. Designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), his work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 3 - Vienna

The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 3 – Vienna

The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 3 – Vienna: Stephen Smith explores how Vienna’s artists rebelled against the establishment in the late 19th century and brought their own highly sexed version of art nouveau to the city.     In a story that combines scandal and revolution, cultural correspondent Stephen Smith explores how Vienna’s artists rebelled against the establishment in the late 19th century and brought their own highly sexed version of art nouveau to the banks of the Danube. Looking at the eye-watering work of Gustav Klimt, Smith discovers that Viennese ‘Jugenstil’ was more than just a decorative delight

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The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 2 - British Cities

The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 2 – British Cities

The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 2 – British Cities: Britain’s art nouveau heritage is excavated as cultural correspondent Stephen Smith unearths the bright. Stephen Smith explores Britain’s art nouveau heritage, from the controversial life of Aubrey Beardsley to the work of Mary Watts and the influence of Arthur Liberty.     On a mission to uncover lesser-known stars of Britain’s version of this continental fin-de-siecle style, he explores the stunning work of Mary Watts and the massive influence of department store entrepreneur Arthur Liberty. In Scotland, he celebrates the innovative art nouveau of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, but looks harder

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The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 1

The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 1 – Paris

The Allure of Art Nouveau episode 1 – Paris: The delicious objects of Parisian Art Nouveau are explored by cultural correspondent Stephen Smith. Stephen Smith explores the objects of Parisian Art Nouveau and learns how some of the 19th century’s most glamorous, controversial figures inspired an extraordinary movement.     Uncovering how the luscious decorative style first erupted into the cityscape, Stephen delves into the city’s bohemian past to learn how some of the 19th century’s most glamorous and controversial figures inspired this extraordinary movement. Revealing the story behind Alphonse Mucha’s sensual posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt, looking at the

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Metalworks episode 3 - The Blacksmith's Tale

Metalworks episode 3 – The Blacksmith’s Tale

Metalworks episode 3 – The Blacksmith’s Tale: In a story where progress meets creative invention, this film looks at how the blacksmith created items in wrought and cast iron that both served and embellished society. From the earliest ornate hinges and doors to magnificent baroque gates and mass-produced street furniture, it reveals the mastery of metalworkers such as Jean Tijou, Robert Bakewell and John Tresilian, the designs of Robert Adam and George Gilbert Scott, and the mass marketers of the Victorian age such as the Saracen foundry.     Treasures are drawn from all corners of the UK in a

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Metalworks episode 2 - The Knight's Tale

Metalworks episode 2 – The Knight’s Tale

Metalworks episode 2 – The Knight’s Tale: Art historian and curator Tobias Capwell celebrates the great age of armour. Referencing the unstoppable rise of the Royal Almain Armoury at Greenwich, he tells the forgotten story of how Henry VIII fused German high technology with Renaissance artistry in the pursuit of one aim – to become the very image of the perfect knight. Using the talents of foreign craftsmen and his court artist Hans Holbein, Henry transformed himself into a living metal sculpture. His daughter Elizabeth I further exploited that image, making her courtiers parade before her in the most innovative

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