The Private Life of a Masterpiece

tv show

poster for The Private Life of a Masterpiece

29 total episodes

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9 seasons

First Aired December 08, 2001

Overview

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.

tv poster

Salvador Dalí: Christ of Saint John of the Cross

Season 6 - Episode 2 - 1h 50m

Air Date

April 14, 2006

Overview

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.