i've watched a couple of episodes
from the BBC series of Simon Schama's Power of Art
Bernini and Rembrandt episodes
on our blessed public television channel PBS
"Art is the enemy of the routine, the mechanical and the humdrum. It stops us in our tracks with a high voltage jolt of disturbance; it reminds us of what humanity can do beyond the daily grind. It takes us places we had never dreamed of going; it makes us look again at what we had taken for granted."
~ Simon Schama
the first minutes of Bernini's "Ecstasy of St. Theresa" Episode
the episodes analyze a central piece by a given artist
and around this narrative, Simon unfolds their life story
Simon Schama wrote and narrates the series, his style is fresh
and even funny at times... as when he refers to Bernini
as... "...that bastard!", a relaxed and unique style
that makes every twist and turn of the narrative
a bit dramatic, it is almost like a watching a soup-opera
where the casts are Popes, painters, sculptures, all while learning
a lot about art history, and world history, too.
I learn a lot about Amsterdam on Rembrandt's episode
these two episodes... highly recommended!
Episodes
1. Caravaggio - David with the Head of Goliath
2. Bernini - Ecstasy of Saint Theresa
3. Rembrandt - The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis
4. David - The Death of Marat
5. Turner - The Slave Ship
6. Van Gogh - Wheatfield with Crows
7. Picasso - Guernica
8. Rothko - Black on Maroon
you can view them all online here
but just like movies on the big screen
TV series are meant to be watched, well, on your TV
upcoming episodes in KPBS, San Diego
May 27, 2010 11:00PM
June 3, 2010 11:00PM
thank you PBS!
4 comments:
Hiya Bere,
It always pays to drop in at your blog! I hadn't heard of this program before. Sounds awesome!
I like the arts and love traveling, so I bet this show will go straight to the top of my tv hit list (once I get around to watching tv again, of course. Been swamp with back essays that are due by the end of the month. Will need a vacation from writing after this!). Thanks a bunch for the link to the episodes, too!
Hope May is ending well your way. Greetings from the suddenly sunny again South Bay (it even tried to rain here last night!),
Smorgy :o)
'Art is the enemy of the routine, the mechanical and the humdrum"...that is so true!
Thanks for the heads up; I sure would like to check this one out..
Bonjour Berenice,
Back from holidays I went straight to your blog to have a look. Then I listened to this YT video about Bernini. Wonderful.
Messire Bernini should have painted his statures like the Greek did. But even in this pale white color they are splendid to look at.
At the time of Bernini, they had the Pope but no sexy publicity with lots of splendid girls, no Schwarzy to make the women swoon. So what the artists did, they sculptured Santa Theresa and Santa Maria half naked in suggestive and seductive positions. Same goes for the paintings though they must have been cheaper.
This kind of art was allowed, no trouble with the holy inquisition, the Taliban movement of that time.
Let's be thankful to these gifted and inventive artists who made wonderful things and proved at the same time that one can survive by adopting to circumstances however shitty they are.
Cheerio, Berenice
Georg
hi dear Smorg, Id, and herr Georg, i am very delighted that you all seem to enjoy Simon Schama TV show, it is indeed delightful! i like his style of narrating very much...
last Thursday was the turn of Jacques-Louis David's Death of Marat, so now i learned about the French Revolution... all these subjects and matters that Simon deals with, i learned in either high-school or my art history classes but they are so detach from everyday life that watching again is like learning them again!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/powerofart/david.shtml
glad you seem interested and do watch him, a wonderful show indeed
and mister Smorg!! for you that are a local, KPBS has many shows of our interest... been watching Wonderland, last week was on Chula Vista! the narrator listed plenty of neat places where to eat / visit in your new surroundings... also last night, or the night before the show was on Kensington, so i had things and places to learn about too!
http://wonderlandsd.com/
yeah TV is not so great for you, except when you watch GOOD TV
hope you all had a wonderful weekend
dear ID and mister Smorg, hope you enjoy your day OFF on Memorial Day!
always great to see you here :)
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