Samuel West
The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2001)
The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece
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
S6E1 - Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper
The stories behind three paintings that encompass traditional Easter themes. The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. Dan Brown 's blockbuster The Da Vinci Code may have brought the fresco to a new audience, but historian David Rosand argues that the book suffers from a basic misreading of the painting; here, he guides us through the work's life story.
April 13, 2006, midnight
S6E2 - Salvador Dalí: Christ of Saint John of the Cross
This extraordinary crucifixion scene - inspired by a weird mix of Spanish mysticism and nuclear physics - is often called the 20th century's greatest religious painting. Yet the artist was a notorious blasphemer whose work had provoked outrage in the Catholic Church.
April 14, 2006, midnight
S6E3 - Piero della Francesca: The Resurrection
A masterpiece of composition, Francesca's widely admired painting depicts the risen Christ - wearing the expression of "a sturdy stevedore", as one art critic put it - while beneath him the guards slumber. Art experts explain the significance of this extraordinary work.
April 17, 2006, 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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