Samuel West
The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2001)
Season 3
Private Life of a Masterpiece is a BBC arts documentary series that tells the stories behind great works of art reaching from the Renaissance to modern art. David by Michelangelo, The Scream by Edvard Munch, The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya, The Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn, Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso, The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck, ... The Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer. For behind the beautiful canvases and sculptures are tales of political revolution, wartime escapes, massive ego clashes, social scandal, financial wrangling and shocking violence. The series reveals the full and fascinating stories behind famous works of art, not just how they came to be created, but also how they influenced others and came to have a life of their own in the modern world.
Released Dec. 8, 2001
Episode 50 min
None+
Genres: Documentary
Keywords: imdb.art-documentary, imdb.female-nudity, imdb.female-frontal-nudity, imdb.female-pubic-hair, imdb.female-rear-nudity
Production Companies: Fulmar TV & Film
Network: BBC Two
Country: United Kingdom
Languages:
English
S3E1 - Auguste Rodin: The Kiss
Auguste Rodin 's Kiss has had a more colourful life than most sculptures. At the time of its conception 100 years ago the intertwined lovers' erotically charged embrace was seen as dangerous. Even in the last year its story has undergone twists and turns. Now housed in London's Tate Modern, this film recounts The Kiss's byzantine history.
Jan. 19, 2004, midnight
S3E2 - Francisco Goya: The Third of May 1808
Goya's greatest painting is a nightmarish image of anonymous men being shot at point blank range by a robot-like firing squad. Commissioned to commemorate a heroic moment in Spanish history, the king was not pleased with its brutal imagery and it was largely forgotten until artists such as Manet and Picasso saw it as the first masterpiece to put the victims of war centre stage.
Jan. 26, 2004, midnight
S3E3 - Auguste Renoir: Dance at the Moulin de la Galette
Was the Moulin de la Galette dance hall really the joyful haven depicted in Renoir's celebratory painting of 1876? Certainly, the Paris of the period was emerging from a violent, bloody political upheaval and Renoir appears to have been unique in depicting the renowned venue as a place of pleasure.
Feb. 2, 2004, midnight
S3E4 - Rembrandt van Rijn: The Night Watch
The secrets behind the celebrated Rembrandt painting of a group of part-time soldiers are revealed. How did the artist achieve the extraordinary effects of his finished work? Plus the story of how it has survived attacks, mutilation and the danger of the German occupation to become the most famous painting in Holland.
Feb. 9, 2004, midnight
S3E5 - Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera
The title of the Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli 's exquisite painting translates as "Spring", yet this huge allegorical tableau, with its mythological characters and themes of rape and failing in love, contains some of the first erotic images of the Renaissance. Narrator Samuel West traces its origins.
Feb. 23, 2004, midnight
Network: BBC Two
Episode Runtime: 50 min.
Season Runtime: 50 min.
Released: Dec. 8, 2001
Last Air Date: Oct. 25, 2010, midnight
Status: Ended
Certification: NR
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