The High Art of the Low Countries episode 2: Andrew Graham-Dixon looks at how the seemingly peaceful countries of Holland and Belgium - famous for their tulips and windmills, mussels and chips - were in fact forged in a crucible of conflict and division. He examines how a period of economic boom driven for the first time by a burgeoning and secular middle class led to…
Civilisation episode 8 - The Light of Experience: Kenneth Clark's story takes him from the Holland of Rembrandt and Vermeer to the London of Wren, Purcell and the Royal Society. Kenneth Clark's classic 1969 series tracing the history of Western art and philosophy. Civilisation episode 8 - The Light of Experience Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and…
Plunge into Johannes Vermeer world and rediscover this enigmatic master. One of the best known yet most mysterious painters of all time, he astonishingly ended up in oblivion. His work, reflecting everyday life in the 17th Century, has gained international recognition, despite only 37 paintings left behind. But who was this man, always portrayed as a solitary, who remained anonymous in his own day? …
Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Johannes Vermeer is one of the most enduring paintings in the history of art, but despite its popularity, the painting itself is surrounded by mystery. Who was this girl, why and how was it painted, and why is it so revered? This film takes us on a journey through the masterpieces of the extensively-renovated Mauritshuis in The Hague in the…