Renaissance by Andrew Graham-Dixon
Renaissance is a six-part BBC documentary series presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon, about the Italian Renaissance. The Renaissance was one of the great periods of creative and intellectual achievement. In this documentary series, Andrew Graham-Dixon looks at the Italian Renaissance from its origins in the thirteenth century, through fifteenth-century Florence, to its end in the sixteenth century. Focusing on the works by the most well-known artists of the period - Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Leonardo da Vinci, Andrew tries to provide an understanding of the massive cultural, intellectual and social transform that swept across Europe between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.
| Episode 1 - Body and Soul |
Episode 1 - Body and Soul
Andrew Graham-Dixon embarks on a quest to find the origins of the Renaissance. His journey takes him to Macedonia, the Low Countries and Venice.
Episode 2 - The Pure Radiance of the Past
Andrew Graham-Dixon visits Florence, where he puts the city's claim to be the cradle of the Renaissance to the test. He looks at works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Masaccio and Ghiberti, and examines Florence's colourful political background.
Episode 3 - Journey of the Magus
Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the princely courts of Italy in the city states of Florence, Urbino, Mantua and Ferrara in the second half of the 15th century, and considers the role they played in shaping the modern artist.
Episode 4 - Apocalypse
Andrew Graham-Dixon examines the millennial anxiety of 1499, when Europe was gripped by apocalyptic fear as hellfire preachers predicted the end of the world.
Episode 5 - Light and Liberty
Andrew Graham-Dixon visits Venice. The city, founded by refugees and made rich through foreign trade, became the source of the greatest painters of light and colour.
Episode 6 - The End of the Renaissance?
Andrew Graham-Dixon concludes the series by asking how the Renaissance came to an end and examining its legacy.
| Related Links |
| Italian Renaissance - wikipedia The Italian Renaissance was the earliest manifestation of the general European Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement that began in Italy during the 14th century and lasted until the 16th century. |
| The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance This documentary tells the story of a violent, dramatic and compelling age; a critical turning point in Western history. |
| Travel with Vasari This is a two-part documentary presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon, exploring the work of Italian Renaissance chronicler Giorgio Vasari. |
| Man: The Measure of All Things Visiting Florence, where, Kenneth Clark argues, European thought gained a new impetus from its rediscovery of its classical past. He also visits the palaces at Urbino and Mantua, other centres of Renaissance civilisation. |
| Art of the Western World This is a documentary series presented by Michael Wood, exploring magnificent masterpieces of the Western world in their cultural and historical settings. |