"Art That Made Us" delivers a fresh perspective on British history. Narrated by David Threlfall, this eight-part series takes viewers on a 1,500-year journey across eight turning points, using iconic artworks to tell an alternative story of a nation.

Prominent artists and cultural historians examine literature, architecture, sculpture, and painting that emerged during times of crisis and change. The series documents the Roman withdrawal and explores how art responded to subsequent invasions. Its timeline progresses through the Black Death's impact on creativity, the theological strife of the Reformation, and the Civil War. It delves into the Georgian Era, the Industrial Revolution, World Wars across Europe, and the cultural revolution of the 1960s.

From the Romans to the Unions, a fresh perspective on British history is uncovered in the landmark series "Art That Made Us."

Art That Made Us

Discover the secrets of the Royal Collection - the last great dynastic art collection collected by the British Royal Family. With over a million pieces, the Royal Collection is a brilliant showcase of fine and decorative arts that gives a glimpse into the tastes and passions of kings and queens over the last 500 years. 

In each episode join historian and art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon as he uncovers the stories and secrets behind key pieces in the collection revealing fascinating stories about the Royal Family by looking at the objects they collected. 

Andrew Graham-Dixon reveals the secrets of the Royal Collection - the last great dynastic art collection collected by the British Royal Family. 

Art, Passion and Power: The Story of the Royal Collection

Join esteemed historian Simon Schama as he shares the brilliant stories behind key masterworks from Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David Turner, Van Gogh, and Picasso. 

In each episode, Schama focuses on a single artist, revealing the history and secrets woven into one of their famous works. From the emotional intensity of Van Gogh's brushstrokes to the revolutionary vision of Picasso's compositions, Schama reveals the fascinating history and evolution of artists who have changed how we view the world. 

Join esteemed historian Simon Schama as he shares the brilliant stories behind key masterworks from Caravaggio to Picasso. 

Simon Schama's Power of Art

In 1832, Eugène Delacroix, the leading light of French Romanticism, journeyed to Africa and discovered a passion for the exotic that would inspire the Symbolist movement.

This seminal biography features sumptuous historical reconstructions based faithfully on Delacroix’s own travel diaries and exquisite sketchbooks and reveals for the first time encounters that would enrich his aesthetic repertoire until the end of his life.

In Morocco and Algeria, we see him entranced by the people and their attire, which he believed to be the visual equal of classical Rome and Greece. Delacroix is considered one of the last Old Masters of painting who brought new themes back from Africa that would influence Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, and many more. 

200 years ago, an Old Master discovered new themes in North Africa that would inspire his greatest work.

Delacroix: From Paris to Morocco

Paul Gauguin's vivid depictions of Pacific Island landscapes and exotic women provide a glimpse into a world few could experience in his time. However, beneath his celebrated paintings lies a life as shocking today as it was then. 

Dominic West narrates Gauguin's own words, offering frank confessions in a film that both honors the artist's accomplishments and confronts his sexual exploitation of young Indigenous girls and his complicity in 19th-century French colonialism.

Filmed in France, New Zealand, Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands, and the UK, this documentary features insights from Gauguin’s descendants — great-granddaughter Mette Gauguin and Tahitian grandson Marcel Tai Gauguin — alongside commentary from art historians and contemporary artists Kehinde Wiley, Tai Shan Schierenberg, and Tyla Vaeau. Through a diverse range of perspectives, both critical and compassionate, the film presents a 21st-century analysis of this 19th-century enigma.

Paul Gauguin is one of the world’s most popular – and controversial – artists. Instantly recognisable, his paintings are in galleries across the globe and have been adored for their colourful beauty.

Gauguin: A Dangerous Life

Oscar-winning actor Eddie Redmayne presents this deeply emotional documentary by Margy Kinmonth, which shines a powerful light into the abyss of warfare, where art has left a unique legacy.

“The Theory of Everything” star, who studied art history at Cambridge University, meets historians and soldiers and travels to battlefield locations, including Flanders, where he comes face-to-face with reminders of the fallen.

Redmayne interviews contemporary war artists George Butler (Syria) and Peter Howson (Bosnia), some of whose work has been deemed too horrific to be exhibited, and discovers paintings of conflict previously hidden from public view. Legendary canvasses by Paul Nash and J.S. Sargent feature, as do the modernists C.R.W. Nevinson and David Bomberg, whose bold abstract forms changed the artistic landscape forever.

Actor Eddie Redmayne explores artworks inspired by warfare and asks: Where does artistic expression end and propaganda begin? 

War Art with Eddie Redmayne

Anjelica Huston narrates this compelling docudrama from award-winning filmmaker Karen Thomas, exploring the life and work of "the original art star" James McNeill Whistler, whose portrait of his mother is an icon of American culture.

Famous for his patent leather shoes, monocle, and swagger, his theatrics attracted the curiosity of buyers and the attention of critics. When John Ruskin accused him of flinging “a pot of paint” in the face of the public with his nearly abstract paintings, Whistler sued for libel and changed the course of art history.

Whistler’s paintings and drawings introduced ideas and art forms that were avant-garde for their time, paving the way for what became known as modern art decades later. His lasting influence is evident in works by Henri Matisse and Georgia O'Keeffe. Art students and enthusiasts will delight in learning more about this pioneer of "nearly abstract" art.

In this compelling docudrama, Angelica Huston narrates as Kevin Kline gives voice to the pioneering artist and original fame-seeker James McNeill Whistler.

Palaces and Pleasuredomes

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