Episodes
1. Auguste Rodin: The Kiss
January 19, 2004
50 min
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.
2. Francisco Goya: The Third of May 1808
January 26, 2004
50 min
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.
3. Auguste Renoir: Dance at the Moulin de la Galette
February 2, 2004
50 min
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.
4. Rembrandt van Rijn: The Night Watch
February 9, 2004
50 min
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.
5. Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera
February 23, 2004
50 min
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.
