Whistler Whistler was the first great international American artist, hugely well travelled, a painter and printmaker who bridged the gap between Impressionist Paris and symbolist London. He was an intelligent and original artist who radically proclaimed that art rather than documenting the visual world around us – should be experienced for its own sake. His Arrangement in Grey […]
Great Artists episode 9 – Whistler Read More »
Stubbs George Stubbs is the greatest painter of horses who ever lived, but so much more than that – a man who literally dissected his subject before he felt able to paint it. But Stubbs was no dispassionate observer instead he brought a weight of feeling to his work that sometimes makes the spine tingle. Stubbs’ great triumph
Great Artists episode 5 – Stubbs Read More »
Australia’s Lost Impressionist: a new beautifully crafted documentary film reveals the close relationships and influence enjoyed by Australia’s lost impressionist, John Russell, within the French avant-garde in the late 1880s. Artist, John Peter Russell (1858-1930), was considered locally at home in his day as being handsome, independently wealthy through an inheritance, as well as decidedly debonair. He joined
Australia’s Lost Impressionist Read More »
Caravaggio Of all the great artists, Caravaggio seems to speak most intensely to the modern world. He lived a brief and tumultuous life, mocking authority and even murdering a man; he spent four years on the run, a fugitive from justice, but he always painted, bringing religious art to life in paintings so powerful and naturalistic that some saw them
Great Artists episode 4 – Caravaggio Read More »
Piero della Francesca This episode looks at the life and work of the 15th century Italian artist Piero della Francesca. With only 26 surviving works Piero has been seen as one of the mystery men of western art. But his calm, monumental, often enigmatic images mark an important step in the development of Renaissance art. This fascinating film reveals the
Great Artists episode 2 – Piero della Francesca Read More »
Giotto Giotto di Bondone, the son of a Tuscan shepherd. Born in 1267, Giotto began his apprenticeship at the age of 12, and with his naturalistic treatment of medieval Christian iconography, was recognised as the first in a line of great painters and architects who contributed to the Italian Renaissance. Giotto’s contemporary, the banker and chronicler Giovanni Villani,
Great Artists episode 1 – Giotto Read More »
Claude Monet was an avid horticulturist and arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, but he was not alone. Great artists like Van Gogh, Bonnard, Sorolla, Sargent, Pissarro and Matisse all saw the garden as a powerful subject for their art. These great artists, along with many other famous names, feature in an innovative and
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse Read More »
Modern Masters – Dali was art’s greatest clown, but was he also one of its great geniuses? Journalist Alastair Sooke traces the life and work of the popular surrealist artist travelling throughout Europe and America. From his origins in turn of the century Spain, to his high jinx in New York in the 1970s, Sook reveals this artist’s fascinating life
Modern Masters – Dali episode 4 Read More »
The life of Pablo Picasso is an exciting story of rebellion, riches, women and great art. In this episode of a four-part series dedicated to Modern Art, journalist Alastair Sooke travels through France, Spain and the US to see some of the artist’s great works and recount tales from his life story. Talking to architects, fashion experts and
Modern Masters – Picasso episode 3 Read More »
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
Modern Masters – Matisse episode 2 Read More »
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
Hieronymus Bosch – The Devil with Angel’s Wings Read More »
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
The Private Life of a Masterpiece – The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci Read More »