The broadcaster and journalist Andrew Marr examines the stories behind some of the most famous works of art ever devised. Why were these pieces created and what makes them, in particular, so eternally fascinating? How much did the lives of the artists, and the society and environment they worked in, influence the paintings? Get ready to see truly iconic images in a whole new light.
Episode 1
Andrew begins by telling the story behind the portrait that attracts eight million onlookers every year, Da Vinci's the Mona Lisa.
Episode 2
Andrew tells the story behind the National Gallery's treasured Sunflowers, and the troubled genius behind its creation, Vincent Van Gogh.
Episode 3
Andrew tells the story behind The Fighting Temeraire, JMW Turner's masterpiece, once voted to be the nation's favourite painting.
Episode 4
Andrew tells the story of Water Lilies by Claude Monet. The first and perhaps most influential art installation ever created.
Episode 5
Andrew explores the more chaotic aspects of a seemingly idyllic piece of work from artist John Constable known as "The Hay Wain".
Episode 6
Andrew travels to Amsterdam to learn details about The Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn, including how the young artist was desperate to find fame.
Episode 7
Andrew takes a close look at a Pablo Picasso painting entitled "Weeping Woman," and he shares details about how the art was inspired by a war crime.
Episode 8
Andrew takes a close look at a Diego Velazquez painting entitled "The Rokeby Venus," and he shares details about how the art challenged both the perceptions of the viewer and the infamous Spanish Inquisition.
Episode 9
Andrew takes a close look at a John Everett Millais painting entitled "Ophelia," and he shares details about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of which Millais was one of the founders that challenged the artistic establishment at that time.
Episode 10
Andrew takes a close look at a Sandro Dotticelli painting entitled "The Birth of Venus," and he shares details about how this painting was an icon of the early renaissance, and a departure in theme from primarily religious' work's.
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