Africa Rising with Afua Hirsch

Africa on its own terms and in full voice - across Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. Uncovering the energy and ambition of creatives reinventing African music, fashion and film.

Treasures of Ancient Rome

Treasures of Ancient Rome is a 2012 three-part documentary written and presented by Alastair Sooke. The series was produced by the BBC, and originally aired in September 2012 on BBC Four. In the documentary Sooke sets out to "debunk the myth that Romans didn't do art and were unoriginal". This is based on the view that Romans heavily incorporated Greek style in their art, and hence produced nothing new or original. Sooke has received some criticism from the media owing to the fact that there is no consensus among academics on this topic, and hence no 'myth' exists in the first place.

Tate Britain's Great Art Walks

Danny Baker, Simon Callow, Richard E Grant, Cerys Matthews, Miriam Margolyes and Michael Sheen follow in the footsteps of their favourite British artists.

art21

Contemporary artists describe their work and discuss why and how they do it. The programs are grouped according to themes of place, spirituality, identity and consumption. A PBS series, educational resource, archive, and history of contemporary art, Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century premiered in 2001 and is now broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide. Premiering a new season every two years, Art21 is the only series on United States television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists.

How to Look at and Understand Great Art

Contemplate the "anti-art" spirit of Dadaism, its nihilistic yet humorous indictment of civilization and bizarre use of unconventional media. In the sensibility of Surrealism, observe its compelling focus on the subconscious and two substyles - dream imagery, with its juxtaposition of objects and settings, and "automatic drawing," eliciting unplanned images from the unconscious.

Palettes

An educational French TV documentary series which goes into depth during each episode into the analysis of a single painting.

Ways of Seeing

John Berger's Ways of Seeing changed the way people think about painting and art criticism. This watershed work shows, through word and image, how what we see is always influenced by a whole host of assumptions concerning the nature of beauty, truth, civilization, form, taste, class and gender. Exploring the layers of meaning within oil paintings, photographs and graphic art, Berger argues that when we see, we are not just looking - we are reading the language of images.

Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA

A history of American art with Waldemar Januszczak

The Art Mysteries with Waldemar Januszczak

Art historian Waldemar Januszczak uncovers the secret meanings hidden within some of the greatest paintings by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat .

Rococo: Travel, Pleasure, Madness

Rococo art is often dismissed as frivolous. But Waldemar Januszczak disagrees and in this three-part series he tries to bring Rococo art closer to us, and argues that the Rococo was the age in which the modern world was born.

The Art of Russia

Art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon travels through time to unlock the world of Russian art.

Vile Bodies

Documentary miniseries about contemporary artists who create challenging views of the human body. One of a 3-part series exploring how contemporary photography is challenging some of our deepest-held taboos about the human body. "American photographer Joel-Peter Witkin discusses his dark visions of human bodies.

Meraviglie. La penisola dei tesori

The beautiful Italy

Handmade in Mexico

An intricate look at the creation process of three Mexican art forms.

Sex and Sensibility: The Allure of Art Nouveau

How the Art Nouveau movement flourished in the burgeoning cities of Europe at the end of the 19th century.

Seven Ages of Britain

Seven Ages of Britain is a BBC television documentary series which is written and presented by David Dimbleby. The seven part series was first aired on Sunday nights at 9:00pm on BBC One starting on 31 January 2010. The series covers the history of Britain's greatest art and artefacts over the past 2000 years. Each episode covers a different period in British history. In Australia, all seven episodes aired on ABC1 each Tuesday at 8:30pm from 7 September 2010.

Picasso: The Beauty and the Beast

His art changed the way we see the world - now change the way you see the artist. An unflinching look at Picasso's legacy, and the horror and brilliance of what he left behind. Family, friends and experts reassess the tumultuous artistic and personal life of Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most provocative artists of all time.

Great Southern Landscapes

Great Southern Landscapes follows art lover and actor Rachel Griffiths as she explores Australia's most iconic landscapes and the untold personal, social and cultural stories behind them.

Kunst in der Wüste

Arthouse

Channel 4 documentary series covering all branches of the arts.