22 Art Documentaries
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- DirectorEmanuele ImbucciStarsEnrico Lo VersoIvano MarescottiA painter recounts the life of Michelangelo.
- DirectorDavid BickerstaffStarsPeter AbrahamsCristine AcidiniSergej AndrosovThe life and work of Michelangelo, one of the most important artists of the Italian High Renaissance, are brought to life in this documentary through an exhibition in the National Gallery that also explore his relationship with da Vinci.
- DirectorRobert SnyderStarsRobert SnyderFlashbacks from the 89 year old artist, having just completed a Pieta in St.Peter's, carry the viewer through the Renaissance background and a tour of sculptures and frescoes.
- StarsWaldemar JanuszczakShaun GreenhalghChristianity slowly emerged from being a persecuted minority to the state religion of the Roman Empire. This episode is a history of the ways believers grappled with a way to depict Jesus. Simple symbolic meaning developed into splendid art and churches.
- StarsWaldemar JanuszczakIn this series critic and writer Waldemar Januszczak challenges the traditional review that the European Renaissance originated in southern Europe, advocating a case for the north instead.
- StarsPhilippe LeroyGiulio BosettiGiorgio PiazzaMiniseries dramatizing the life of the Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).
- DirectorLuca ViottoStarsMarco CiattiArturo GalansinoSimon MerrellsA multidimensional and multisensory journey in the Florentine Renaissance through its most representative beauties, with the latest-generation 3D and 4K technology and the most advanced techniques of modelling and dimensionalisation.
- DirectorRalph LoopStarsJoe GrossiThe Renaissance master Botticelli spent over a decade painting and drawing hell as the poet Dante described it. The film takes us on a journey through hell with fascinating and exciting insights into Botticelli's art and its hidden story.
- DirectorMarco PianigianiStarsEmilio PuggioniRenaissance Florence Medici was powerhouse of culture with dark side. Sandro Botticelli was able to project into his works, the lights and shadows of this era - the inventor of ideal Beauty in The Allegory of Spring and the Birth of Venus
- StarsMassimo MarinoniPeter GuinnessRoss KingFrom a small Italian community in 15th-century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history--the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world.
- StarsRoger ScrutonContemporary philosopher Roger Scruton presents a fascinating argument for the importance of beauty in our art and in our lives, and explores what truly is and is not beautiful, regardless of its beholder.
- DirectorAndrey KonchalovskiyStarsJakob DiehlYuliya VysotskayaOrso Maria GuerriniThe life of Michelangelo Buonarroti.
- DirectorJesus Garces LambertStarsManuel AgnelliEmanuele MariglianoMina GregoriAn exciting and unsettling cinematic journey through the life, work and torments of Caravaggio. Light and shadow, contrasts and contradictions, genius and intemperance distinguish his existence and his art. A narrative and visual excursus, filmed in : Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples and Malta.
- DirectorGiuseppe Domingo RomanoPepsy RomanoffStarsHelena Bonham CarterPeter GreenawayMelania Gaia MazzuccoA 90-minutes documentary that celebrates the 500th anniversary of the birth of the last great artist of the Italian Renaissance, the most unexpected mind that the art of painting has ever produced: Tintoretto.
- StarsTim MarlowHenry GoodmanYves AubertArt historian Tim Marlow hosts a documentary series about the life and art of greatest artists from history. Some episodes were originally part of the theatrical art documentary series called Exhibition on Screen.
- StarsTim MarlowA major 25 part television series in which art historian Tim Marlow takes a fresh look at the most important artworks of some of the greatest artists in history. Shot on location in over 50 galleries, museums, churches and palaces throughout Europe and the United States, this series is a comprehensive survey of the history of Western art. Both intelligent and informative, the series aims to provide an uncomplicated and accessible analysis of the works and artists featured including Giotto, Michelangelo and Raphael.
- DirectorPhil GrabskyStarsGlen McCreadyLeonardo da Vinci's peerless paintings and drawings are the focus of Leonardo: The Works, as EXHIBITION ON SCREEN presents every single attributed painting, in Ultra HD quality, never seen before on the big screen.
- StarsSimon SchamaAllan CordunerPaul PopplewellFocusing on eight iconic works of art, Power of Art reveals the history of visual imagination through the ages.
- StarsAndrew Graham-Dixon
- StarsJohn BergerAnya BostockEva FigesJohn Berger presents his insights on how people see. Through examples of Art History Berger shows how our very sense of sight has been transformed. By discovering why this is so, according to Berger, "we shall discover something about ourselves."
- StarsWendy BeckettThe British nun and art historian visits works at several of the United States' finest museums.
- StarsCalandra CaldecottCharles DarwentMartin BaileyThe history of various thefts of art and efforts to recover them.
- StarsFiona BrucePhilip MouldBendor GrosvenorJournalist Fiona Bruce teams up with art expert Philip Mould to investigate mysteries behind paintings.
- StarsVeronika HyksRosmarie Beier-de HaanCharles JencksArt movements were rife with hocus pocus during the early part of the twentieth century. Commissioning Editor Waldemar Januszczak as part of a major arts series looking at the history of Modernism.
- StarsKenneth ClarkIan RichardsonRonald LaceySir Kenneth Clarke walks through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilization in Western man.
- StarsMary BeardMary Beard looks at some of the most famous nudes in art, from the Venus de Medici to Michelangelo's David, and argues controversy is nothing new.
- StarsBob RossSteve RossDana JesterIn this half-hour program, artist Bob Ross paints a beautiful oil painting on canvas.
- StarsNigel SpiveyVilayanur RamachandranStefano MariottiniDocumentary series looking at the influence of art on the current day situation of our society.
- StarsJohn BergerAnya BostockEva FigesJohn Berger presents his insights on how people see. Through examples of Art History Berger shows how our very sense of sight has been transformed. By discovering why this is so, according to Berger, "we shall discover something about ourselves."
- DirectorNeil CrombieStarsMatthew CollingsDocumentary in which artist and writer Matthew Collings explores the concept of beauty in art. Is beauty only in the eye of the beholder, or is there something more universal we can say about it?
- DirectorWaldemar JanuszczakStarsDamien HirstWaldemar JanuszczakAnish KapoorBeauty today can be subtle and elusive. It can be found in the LCD sculptures of Tatsuo Miyajima, the subtle light installations of James Turrell or cancer paintings of Damien Hirst. Januzczak, Waldemar goes searching.
- StarsAlan YentobTracey EminChuck CloseWide-ranging BBC arts programme.
- StarsSimon SchamaAllan CordunerPaul PopplewellFocusing on eight iconic works of art, Power of Art reveals the history of visual imagination through the ages.
- StarsDan CruickshankDan Cruickshank goes in search of 80 treasures that define civilizations around the world.
- StarsJames FoxBill AndersDavid WatkinDr James Fox explores how, in the hands of artists, the colors gold, blue and white have stirred our emotions, changed the way we behave and even altered the course of history.
- StarsAndrew Graham-Dixon
- DirectorMichael J. FosterStarsGrae DrakeEmery EmeryMichael J. FosterToday's independent artists - filmmakers, comedians, and musicians gather to discuss this century's most meaningful people within tv, film, and music. Take a look back to remember the crazy ones that inspired change. Because when you're at the roundtable of art, everyone is the same.
- DirectorGhislain CloquetChris MarkerAlain ResnaisStarsJean NégroniFrançois MitterrandPope Pius XIIA documentary of black art.
- DirectorOrson WellesGary GraverOja KodarStarsOrson WellesOja KodarFrançois ReichenbachA documentary about fraud and fakery.
- DirectorArne BirkenstockStarsWolfgang BeltracchiHelene BeltracchiHenrik HansteinA mesmerizing, thought-provoking yet surprisingly amusing documentary on the life and times of Wolfgang Beltracchi, who tricked the international art world for nearly 40 years by forging and selling paintings of early 20th-century masters. A larger-than-life personality who was responsible for the biggest art forgery scandal of the postwar era.
- DirectorThierry BinistiStarsElise TielrooyTania Da CostaJean-Marie WinlingNotorious con artists Lune and Schula are given a second chance by the police: they have to pose as rich art collectors to infiltrate art galleries and confound two famous experts and dealers, suspected of authenticating fake works of art.
- DirectorAmir Bar-LevStarsMarla OlmsteadLaura OlmsteadMark OlmsteadA look at the work and surprising success of a four-year-old girl whose paintings have been compared to the likes of Picasso and has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- DirectorDon ArgottStarsJulian BondDavid D'ArcyRichard FeigenDocumentary that follows the struggle for control of Dr. Albert C. Barnes' 25 billion dollar collection of modern and post-impressionist art.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonAndrew Graham-Dixon undertakes an epic journey to uncover the art of China.
- StarsKenneth ClarkIan RichardsonRonald LaceySir Kenneth Clarke walks through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilization in Western man.
- StarsTim MarlowA major 25 part television series in which art historian Tim Marlow takes a fresh look at the most important artworks of some of the greatest artists in history. Shot on location in over 50 galleries, museums, churches and palaces throughout Europe and the United States, this series is a comprehensive survey of the history of Western art. Both intelligent and informative, the series aims to provide an uncomplicated and accessible analysis of the works and artists featured including Giotto, Michelangelo and Raphael.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonThis 3 part series is presented by the British Art Critic, Andrew Graham-Dixon. He explores the Low Countries of the Netherlands and Belgium and how history has influenced the area's art, architecture and culture. Cloth was used in the area's first expression of art in the making of tapestries going back to the 14 th century. They were the No. 1 luxury item of the day. The Low Countries were well placed geographically for markets for their art.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonAndrew Graham-Dixon looks at neglected, but rich German art from the time of the Middle Ages.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonKen RussellA six-part television documentary series tracing the history of British art from 1066 to the modern day.
- StarsAndrew Graham-DixonAndrew Graham-Dixon travels to 3 areas of Spain to examine and interpret the various art of this country. He also has other series about art, one of German art and the other in Sweden.
- StarsDavid FriendLeonard NimoyHarris YulinThe story of the pictures we have taken and where they have taken us.
- During the long years of the Dark Ages, the flickering flame of art was kept alive principally by the church. While all around was dark, the great masters of Medieval art such as Giotto and Van Eyck worked within the confines of the religious world and laid the seeds for the Renaissance which was to follow.
- StarsJeremy PaxmanIan MaineAlasdair BruceJeremy Paxman, presenter of the BBC's current affairs program Newsnight examines the life and times of the Victorian era. In the first program he focuses on the styles of Victorian artists and their stark contrast between the dreams and nightmares of the age. Victorian artists painted cozy, opulent interiors of domestic happiness without any of the hardships of the poor. Many artists however rebelled against this in the mid Victorian era and painted what happened was happening to the unfortunates and the destitute and depict the dark, lingering fears and anxieties that threatened too destroy the calm of home which the Victorians had insulated themselves with.
- StarsWaldemar JanuszczakArt writer Waldemar Januszczak explores the revolutionary achievements of the Impressionists.
- Never was a world so completely turned upside down as with the arrival of the Impressionist School. Cezanne, Seurat and Manet all produced inspirational and at the time even controversial works which completely revolutionized thinking in the world of art.
- StarsStephen SmithA look at how the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century.
- DirectorBrian LankerStarsJason RobardsFranklin BoggsHoward BrodieThe story of World War II combat artists and their art.
- DirectorDavid GrubinStarsDavid McCulloughSander GilmanPeter GuentherThis is a documentary from 1993 about the art exhibit under the Nazi regime of what they considered to be the most corrupting and corrosive examples of what they called 'Entartete Kunst' or 'Degenerate Art.' The exhibit, which opened in July of 1937, was meant to be laughed at and despised.
- StarsDavid Byrne
- DirectorWilliam HoltDonald HertzStarsCarole HoltThis is a photo essay featuring American antiques, early country, artifacts, quilts & pottery, colonial architecture and much more.
- StarsLaylah AliIda ApplebroogGuo-Qiang CaiFrom politics to mass media, the theme of power pervades daily life and is reflected in the ideas and concerns of contemporary artists. The Art:21 documentary "Power" explores the work of the artists Cai Guo-Qiang, Laylah Ali, Krzysztof Wodiczko, and Ida Applebroog, and concludes with an original video artwork by Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler.
- DirectorAaron RoseJoshua LeonardStarsJulian Bennett HolmesThomas CampbellShepard FaireyThis documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of Do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world.
- DirectorAmber Yu Qian
- A tour of the top art museums of the world, filmed in High Definition.
- StarsColm FeoreJesse Blaze SniderJoe MedeirosMuseum Secrets is a TV series on History Television in Canada and a website with videos and games; exploring the world's renowned museums and their most enigmatic objects. Narrated by Canadian actor Colm Feore, the TV series is now in production for a third season. Museum Secrets is produced by Kensington Communications Inc. The Royal Ontario Museum held a special exhibit during the winter of 2011, featuring objects from the Museum Secrets series. Several Canadian newspapers previewed the exhibit: National Post, Toronto Sun, Torontoist and Toronto Star.
- DirectorDanièle HuilletJean-Marie StraubStarsJulie KoltaïJean-Marie StraubA visit to the Louvre in Paris commentated by an actor reading Cézanne.
- DirectorAlastair LaurenceStarsAndrew HusseyThis is a documentary about the history of the Louvre museum, the building and the historical people influencing it as reflected in the various treasures inside it.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanStarsLeanne BenjaminKausikan RajeshkumarJo ShapcottA documentary that goes inside one of the great museums of the world: The National Gallery in London.
- DirectorJohannes HolzhausenStarsArnout BalisChristian Beaufort-SpontinMarcello FarabegoliAn in-depth look at daily life at one of the most famous cultural institutions in the world, The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
- StarsDion Graham
- DirectorFederico FelliniStarsBritta BarnesPeter Gonzales FalconFiona FlorenceA fluid, unconnected and sometimes chaotic procession of scenes detailing the various people and events of life in Italy's capital, most of it based on director Federico Fellini's life.
- StarsFrancesco da MostoAlessandro BressanelloDocumentary series telling the story of the birth of Venice, one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in the world.
- DirectorNicole VédrèsStarsClaude DauphinRené AlexandreGuillaume ApollinaireDocumentary limning the life of Paris and its citizens during "La Belle Epoque," the years between 1900 and 1914. Beginning with the Paris Exposition of 1900 and the completion of the Eiffel Tower, the film progresses through cultural, technological, and social changes, from peaceful and sometimes näive times to the rumbling foreshadowing of the war that would disrupt France and Europe for years to come.
- DirectorHeddy HonigmannStarsYoshino KimuraBertrand BeyernCamille SolariForever is a film about the power and vitality of art and a place where love and death go hand in hand and beauty lives on: the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
- DirectorVincent MonnikendamThe incomparable splendor of Naples, situated in the shadow of a volcano and by the blue sea of an enormous bay, inspired Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to the famous statement: "See Naples and die". But Naples also has a more complex side. Behind the splendor and pomp that dates from the time when Naples still had great political and social influence, one can also find poverty and adversity. The film director Vincent Monnikendam ends in the backstreets and steep alleyways where sunlight barely penetrates, where dark drama and frivolity keep the age-old city in their grip. The central feature of the film is the painting The Seven Acts of Mercy by Caravaggio, the master of the clair-obscur. This altar piece was painted in 1607, commissioned by the noble founders of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, a charitable institution that is still active. Myths about this painting, the history of the Pio Monte, the joy and sorrow of Neapolitans, alternate and combine to form a colourful portrait. With a leading role for the city of Naples itself. Among the important characters in Souls of Naples are Pietro Gargano, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Il Mattino and a connoisseur of urban history, and Gian Paolo Leonetti, former chairman of the Pio Monte della Misericordia and a descendant of a noble family. The baroque interior of the villa where we meet contrasts with the sober entourage of the inner city. This is where the transsexual Gianni earns a meagre income by selling lottery tickets and Pina tells us about her difficult existence while she sews trendy handbags in a small factory located in an old cellar. The Russian painter Natalia Tsarkova tries to communicate in her own work the essence of clair-obscur in the paintings by Caravaggio whom she so admires. According to her, the special lighting effects with powerful contrasts so characteristic of his work are the symbol of survival, for good and evil, for life and death. In a style inspired by these characteristic light-dark contrasts Souls of Naples provides an inspiring portrait of a city that has survived for two and half thousand years.
- DirectorManoel de OliveiraStarsAntónio CruzA painter wanders around the city of Oporto painting what he sees: old and modern buildings, people arriving and leaving work in the factories, children playing.
- DirectorSebastián MorenoStarsVerónica De NegriJosé DuránPaz ErrázurizA film about the fearless photographers and photojournalists who documented strikes, demonstrations, protests etc during the Chilean military regime of Augusto Pinochet, sometimes risking their very lives.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsAgnès VardaA documentary of the caryatids in Paris accompanied by the poetry of Baudelaire and the music of Offenbach.
- DirectorAna Maria MagalhãesStarsLeonilsonLeda CatundaCiro CozzolinoThree artists from São Paulo - Leda Catunda, Leonilson and Ciro Cozzolino - talk about their work and the rebirth of painting through pop, conceptual art and graffiti.
- DirectorYue JiangThe only 1 of 5 artists interviewed in the 1990 Bumming In Beijing, Sen Mou had organized an unsuccessful stage attempt at capturing the disappointment by young actors at the transition from a failed Communism to a more capitalist China.
- DirectorGina See-yuen WongStarsFeng Kwai LimWu XieShi JinContemporary visual artists in Shanghai and real estate developers forms a curious partnership amidst a construction boom in the run up to Shanghai hosting World Expo 2010.
- DirectorChiara ClementeStarsMarina AbramovicGhada AmerCaledonia CurryFilmed over the course of two years, "Our City Dreams" is the story of a woman's struggles and successes as an artist in New York City.
- StarsMark RylanceChe CartwrightSherwin NulandAn exploration of the life of Leonardo da Vinci.
- DirectorJulian BirkettRoger ParsonsStarsFiona BruceFiona Bruce, a British Television journalist, uncovers the story of Leonardo da Vinci, who is considered to be one of the greatest artists that ever lived. She visits, Florence, New York, London, Milan, Paris and Tuscany in her journey. She also decloses a previously lost painting and speaks with the restorer and an art dealer in New York who have known about this painting for 2 years.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyRichard LyfordCurt OertelStarsFredric MarchThe life and works of the great artist Michelangelo Buonarroti are shown against the historical background of his time. It begins with his earliest artworks, and follows his life and career as he achieves lasting fame. The documentary includes detailed looks at some of the artist's most renowned creations.
- DirectorTim DunnStuart ElliottStarsSusannah YorkStephen NoonanRoy HolderIn the year that the David celebrates its 500th anniversary, BBC ONE brings to life the story of one of the most gifted, and tempestuous, artists in history.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsMichelangelo AntonioniMichelangelo Eye to Eye is a meditation on mortality which observes the director Michelangelo Antonioni contemplating Michelangelo's statues in St Peter's.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsMartin FreemanEva BirthistleJodhi MayAn 'essayistic' documentary in which Greenaway's fierce criticism of today's visual illiteracy is argued by means of a forensic search of Rembrandt's Nightwatch. Greenaway explains the background, the context, the conspiracy, the murder and the motives of all its thirty-four painted characters who have conspired to kill for their combined self-advantage. Greenaway leads us through Rembrandt's paintings into seventeenth-century Amsterdam. He paints a world that is democratic in principle, but is almost entirely ruled by twelve families. The notion exists of these regents as charitable and compassionate entities. However, reality was different.
- DirectorMichael GillStarsJohn BergerMelvyn BraggJonathan Miller
- DirectorJoe KrakoraStarsMeryl StreepMeryl Streep narrates this technologically complex profile of Vermeer.
- DirectorTellerStarsTim JenisonPenn JilletteMartin MullInventor Tim Jenison seeks to understand the painting techniques used by Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer.
- DirectorAmit DuttaStarsManish SoniNitin GoelRajesh. K.A depiction of royalty in former hill state of Guler in form of paintings by a lineage of period artists. These depictions are recreated for visual understanding of the circumstances behind the paintings in the same / similar location, including ruins of former royal residences and other annexes.
- This program tells the story of one of the art world's most colorful characters. A true maverick and a highly controversial figure in his day, Edouard Manet became a father figure to the Impressionist movement because of his stand against the restrictions and conventions of the French salon.
- StarsVivian RussellPaul Hayes TuckerJohn HouseMad About Monet.