Its only now, 2 months from the end of my degree course that I'm sure of what I suspected five years ago. That is that all I want to do is art history. One day in a few years I will have to try and get on an MA art history. This post is to draw attention to the new television series for BBC 4 with Waldemar Januszczak called "Baroque!" which I enjoyed.
The series is only 3 episodes. I feel lucky to have spotted it on the IPlayer, it can be missed easily. Episode one starts in Italy at St. Peters. Januszczak wanders over the course of the series looking at the great Baroque works of art ending up in episode three at St. Pauls in London. Januszczak explains the art and artists Velasquez, Caravaggio, Zurburan, Rubens and Vermeer. Another thing I like about this series is a short bit about Jusepe De Ribera. A lesser known Spanish artist compared to the likes of Velasquez but one I've been interested in since seeing his work on show in Seville. I found ittricky to find much info about Ribera but I now have an out of print book about the artist on order, exciting.
The Bearded Woman Breastfeeding, 1631
In this series theres alot of characteristic (for Januszczak) wobbly camera journeys and the camera following him hunkering down on the floor to look at maps, lying down to best view Baroque ceiling paintings and puffing his way along pilgrim trails. It's an interesting series if you like the baroque or social history and worth a watch.
Other recent art programs I like.
The Mona Lisa Curse - Robert Hughes
The Sculpture Diaries - Waldemar Januszczak
Toulouse Lautrec - Waldemar Januszczak
The Perfect House: The Life and Work of Palladio
This is Civilisation - Matthew Collings
