Summary: Although rendered in stone, the sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini convey a sense of weightlessness perhaps unequalled in the history of Western art. This program illustrates Bernini's nearly miraculous ability to turn marble into a vessel of rapture, both spiritual and sexual. With The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa as his principal focus, presenter Simon Schama examines numerous works by the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Backed by a Church struggling to connect with the faithful, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio painted images imbued with physical immediacy and in-your-face drama. As this program shows, there was a trade-off: Caravaggio's biblical scenes frequently eschew, in the words of presenter Simon Schama, "any vision of consolation or redemption." Exploring the artist's humble origins, penchant for...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon continues his travels from southern to northern Spain, revealing a stunning and informative array of artworks. In this program, he journeys to the provinces surrounding Madrid-where, during the 16th and 17th centuries, many of the world's great artists flourished against a backdrop of imperialism and fervent Catholicism. In Toledo, El Greco's mystical style is...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: The Italian Renaissance, which embraces both the Early Renaissance and the High Renaissance, stands as the central tradition in European art-and continues to be a powerful source of artistic influences.This program examines:&8226; Masaccio's Profile Portrait of a Young Man
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: When Rembrandt painted Frans Banning Cocq's militia company, he imbued it with all the drama and gravity of a major moment in history. This program deftly deconstructs The Night Watch to understand the many conventions it broke through its suggestions of movement, dramatic use of light and perspective, and its very composition; appraises its value in the hearts of the Dutch; and reveals the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: St. Francis of Assisi revolutionized Christianity in 13th-century Tuscany with his down-to-earth belief that poverty, chastity, and obedience should shape an individual's relationship with God. By going back to Christ's original message, he played a pivotal role in the genesis of the Renaissance. This poignant program investigates how St. Francis's infusion of emotion and nature into the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The idea of using art to explore the human condition rather than the divine was a significant departure from the predominantly religious artwork that preceded this secular revelation. In this program, Matthew Collings seeks the first glimmerings of humanist art in the Italian Renaissance-particularly in the works of Giotto and Leonardo da Vinci. He also contrasts two 18th-century artists who,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: In 13th- and 14th-century Tuscany, money became the new tool of power as industry, trade, and finance flourished. This program follows the remarkable rise of the great banking families whose groundbreaking innovations in finance led to the economics of international big business practiced today. Merchant bankers also supported the aims of the Catholic Church by using their extraordinary wealth...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Art students can benefit greatly from comparing Michelangelo's preparatory drawings to his finished masterworks-but viewing them together is virtually impossible in a museum setting. This program solves that problem, closely juxtaposing the artist's pencil and charcoal works with the painting, sculpture, and architecture that grew out of them. Studying drawings at the British Museum, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006