The Private Life of a 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.
Episodes
Painted in 1863 by Edouard Manet , this radical work broke every rule in the book as it irrevocably changed the way nudes were painted. Then, as now, audiences were bemused by the bizarre depiction, fraught with curious detail and quotations from other paintings, prompting many to call it the first piece of art about art. An inspiration to many, Picasso created 180 versions of it.
One of the most widely reproduced images in the world is examined in the second of two films on famous works of art. The Rokeby Venus was painted by Diego Velazquez , court painter to the King of Spain in the 17th century. Described as one of the most erotic paintings ever created, it shows the back view of a woman looking at her reflection in a mirror being held by Cupid. Once forbidden by the Spanish Inquisition, and slashed seven times by a militant suffragette in 1914, today the painting is frequently imitated and admired.
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