Power of Art

December 21, 2014 4:46 AM

Simon Schama's Power of Art is available in full. Part 1 Caravaggio. Part 2 Bernini. Part 3 Rembrandt. Part 4 David. Part 5 Turner. Part 6 Van Gogh. Part 7 Picasso. Part 8 Rothko.

Or Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8.

Or Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (more). Key artwork: David with the Head of Goliath (c. 1610)..

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (more). Key artwork: Ecstasy of St. Theresa (c. 1652).

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (more) (more). Key artwork: The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis (1662).

Jacques-Louis David (more). Key artwork: The Death of Marat (1793).

Joseph Mallord William Turner (more) (more). Key artwork: The Slave Ship (1840).

Vincent van Gogh (more) (more). Key artwork: Wheatfield with Crows (1890).

Pablo Picasso (more). Key artwork: Guernica (1937).

Mark Rothko (more) (more). Key artwork: Black on Maroon (1958).

Note: The key artwork for each artist is the centerpiece of the episode featuring that particular artist.

posted by cwest (11 comments total)

This is great, thanks! I had them on DVD and it's such a fantastic series. The Bernini episode is particularly fascinating, and not just because of its orgasmic centerpiece.
posted by mediareport at 6:45 AM on December 21, 2014

Thanks for this - Schama is sort of a double-edged sword for me. He almost seems to be doing a piss-take on an Art Historian, and in fact has been parodied - yet his shows are very good.

For me, the standout is Mark Rothko, an artist whom I didn't understand and in fact loathed. That episode was magic in terms of explaining his worldview, his attitude towards art, his public, patronage, and all the rest (biographical details). Now I really like Rothko, if not his art so much.

Great post, and I'm surprised no one's done an fpp on this before.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 7:37 AM on December 21, 2014 [2 favorites]

A nice collection of links. Watched his "history of the Jews" pt.1 just the other evening. I like his style.
posted by clavdivs at 9:45 AM on December 21, 2014

Thanks for reminding me that I need to watch this, and making it easy for me to do so.
posted by immlass at 10:04 AM on December 21, 2014

Was just thinking the other day that Andy Serkis' Van Gogh was one of the best things he's ever done.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:05 AM on December 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

This was such a wonderful series; the Caravaggio and Rothko episodes were the standouts for me, but they were all great. Schama recently revisited Rembrandt on the BBC to tie in with the latest National Gallery Rembrandt exhibition, and it was just as good.
posted by rory at 12:21 PM on December 21, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh, excellent! Thanks, cwest.
posted by homunculus at 4:32 PM on December 21, 2014

Excellent! I teach one hour class about Caravaggio's life once a year to junior high school kids, and use "David with the head of Goliath" (The Vienna version) to teach the kids about chiaroscuro.
posted by donkeymon at 4:02 AM on December 22, 2014

The Bernini episode's my favorite. That bust of Constanza is breathtaking in person, and knowing the story behind that love affair gone horribly wrong made seeing it in person so much more powerful.
posted by culfinglin at 1:09 PM on December 22, 2014

This series was unknown to me. Many thanks for the detailed post, cwest!
posted by On the Corner at 11:45 PM on December 22, 2014

Huh, that is totally Andrew Garfield in the Caravaggio episode.
posted by The Whelk at 6:58 PM on January 9, 2015