The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2001) | Couchpile

Search movies & TV shows...

Loading...

The Private Life of a Masterpiece (2001) | Couchpile

Season 4 poster

Season 4

5 Episodes

2004

Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave

E01

Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave

4/17/2004·50m

Arguably the most recognisable image in Far Eastern art, this Japanese magnum opus is an accurate portrayal of the waves sailors swore they had encountered, despite universal scepticism. One of a series of wood-block prints begun in the 1820s by Katsushika Hokusai , then in his 70s, The Great Wave has a fascinating history that speaks volumes in the 21st century.

Edgar Degas: The Little Dancer

E02

Edgar Degas: The Little Dancer

4/24/2004·50m

Edgar Degas 's bronze sculpture of a ballet dancer wearing a real tutu has become one of the most widely appreciated European works of art. But when the original tinted wax version was first exhibited in 1881 it caused consternation, with contemporary critics dubbing Degas's petite danseuse variously as "a monster' and a "flower of the gutter". This documentary reveals how Degas broke every rule in the book to create his modern masterpiece, and also tells the poignant life story of the sculpture's model.

Vincent Van Gogh: The Sunflowers

E03

Vincent Van Gogh: The Sunflowers

5/1/2004·50m

Viewed as one of the most famous works of art in the world, few people know the history behind Vincent Van Gogh 's painting. Inspired by a bunch of flowers that the artist found lying in the gutter, Sunflowers became a personal favourite of the Dutch artist. A favourite so much that ten versions of the original were made, the first of which helped to form a fruitful yet ultimately fraught relationship with fellow artist Paul Gauguin. Revealing these stories and how Van Gogh 's passion for sunflowers followed him all the way to the grave, this documentary also looks to explain the enduring popularity behind the piece.

Pablo Picasso: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

E04

Pablo Picasso: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon

5/15/2004

"My Brothel" is the title Pablo Picasso gave to his depiction of five prostitutes - a painting that shocked even his friends when they first saw it. But how did the piece arise from a rivalry between Picasso and Matisse? What influences did Picasso draw on for his allegory of sex and death? And why does it remain revolutionary to this day?

James McNeill Whistler: Portrait of the Painter's Mother

E05

James McNeill Whistler: Portrait of the Painter's Mother

5/22/2004

Whistler's portrait of his elderly Puritan mother is one of the most satirised paintings of all time. Yet when his sombre masterpiece was first unveiled, it was seen as a radical departure from the sentimental images beloved of the Victorians, and which Whistler loathed. How did the portrait, born of Whistler's complex relationship with his mother, change the course of painting so drastically?

Season 5 poster

Season 5

5 Episodes

2005

Eugene Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People

E01

Eugene Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People

4/2/2005·50m

The series that reveals stories behind famous artworks returns, beginning with an examination of Eugene Delacroix 's response to the July revolution of in France. Delacroix's vibrant portrayal of the bare breasted figure of Liberty leading a rabble over a barricade was taken up as a symbol of revolution across the country. Its painter, however, later moaned that the trouble with revolutions was they got in the way of dinner parties.

Johannes Vermeer: The Art of Painting

E02

Johannes Vermeer: The Art of Painting

4/9/2005·50m

The series that reveals the stories behind famous artworks continues with an examination of the favourite picture of the artist who painted it - the 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer. This sublime symbol-laden interior remained in his possession until his death, despite the family being in dire financial straits. A later admirer was Adolf Hitler , who liked it so much that he bought it.

Paolo Uccello: The Battle of San Romano

E03

Paolo Uccello: The Battle of San Romano

4/16/2005·50m

An armoured knight in the thick of battle astride his white charger forms the central figure of a dramatic 15th-century masterpiece by Paolo Uccello. The painting, in three panels, depicts scenes from the battle of San Romano fought between Florence and Siena in 1432. Using one-point perspective Uccello achieved one of the greatest portrayals of men in close combat. Coveted through the centuries the panels became the victims of an extraordinary art crime.

Georges Seurat: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

E04

Georges Seurat: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

4/23/2005·50m

"Bedlam", "scandal", and "hilarity" were some of the words used to describe Georges Seurat's portrayal of Parisians enjoying an outing on the banks of the River Seine. Now it is seen as one of the most popular paintings ever created, and hailed as a masterpiece of pointillism - or divisionism as Seurat preferred to call his technique. But there's even more to it than first meets the eye. Could the woman pictured fishing in fact be angling for something else? And what's the real significance of the woman leading the monkey?

Gustav Klimt: The Kiss

E05

Gustav Klimt: The Kiss

4/30/2005

This erotically charged and hugely popular example of Art Nouveau fused with Symbolism has been the subject of intense speculation since its unveiling in 1908. Who are the two lovers in a rapturous embrace? Is the man or woman in control? And, most tantalisingly, could it depict the artist, a man whose sexual appetite was on a par with Casanova's? Germaine Greer, John Malkovich and former Erotic Review editor Rowan Pelling share their thoughts.