Running Time: 50 minutes

Volume 1: Bosch
The career of Hieronymous Bosch is amongst the most mysterious of all the great artists of history. Though he was well-known by the time of his death in 1516, virtually nothing of his life is known today. His surviving works are also deeply enigmatic, highly symbolic images filled with the spirit of the Middle Ages.

But the appeal of Bosch’s work has long out-lasted the late medieval age in which he lived. Though his art addressed the human follies of his own time, the satirical humour that he used can still be readily appreciated today. His intensely spiritual images of Christ and the Saints also continue to inspire many modern students, but it is Bosch’s remarkable visions of the fantastic that are, undoubtedly, his greatest achievement.

Featuring interviews from leading authorities, art historians and scholars.

Volume 2: Bruegel
The life of Pieter Bruegel the Elder will always remain something of a mystery. We possess few details of his sixteenth century life, and we must rely fully on his surviving art to appreciate his genius.

As an artist, he was inspired deeply by his great Dutch predecessor, Hieronymous Bosch. His work reveals typically Boschian themes such as the ‘Follies of Man’, and he used a similar keen humour to convey his artistic message. Bruegel also followed Bosch in his choice of contemporary subject matter. His depictions of peasant life are amongst the greatest in western art. He was also one of the first masters of landscape painting, and his satirical drawings are as relevant today as they have ever been, while his religious works combine simplicity and depth in their spiritual message.

This film features the views of leading authorities, art historians and scholars.

Running Time: 50 minutes

Volume 3: Rubens
Born in Antwerp in 1577, the young Peter Paul Rubens travelled extensively in Italy, soaking up the artistic achievements of the High Renaissance. Returning to Flanders, he began a career that combined Renaissance technique with a new boldness of approach towards colour and brushwork. His mastery at depicting surface texture can be seen in his religious images commissioned by the Catholic church. But Rubens was undoubtedly a man of the world, a charming individual who worked as a diplomat and whose connections resulted in a great number of portrait commissions. It is these portraits that are, perhaps, the most enduring achievements of a giant of art history.

Features the views of leading authorities, art historians and scholars.

Volume 4: Van Dyck
The pupil of Rubens, Anthony van Dyck followed his master's example by travelling to Italy as part of his artistic training. Like Rubens, he found inspiration in the Venetian Renaissance masters Titian and Giorgione. An enthusiasm for rich colours and a remarkable ability to depict the texture of fabric characterised Van Dyck's best work, as it had his master's, but even more than Rubens, Van Dyck focused his attention on the art of portraiture. Appointed Court Painter to the English King Charles in 1632, the portraits he produced provide an unrivalled visual insight into the noble men and women of the day, as well as displaying his technical mastery of the genre.

Featuring the views of leading authorities, art historians and scholars.

Running Time: 50 minutes

Volume 5: Rembrandt
Some art lovers believe that Rembrandt’s abilities as a portraitist have never been surpassed, and it is, perhaps his famous series of self-portraits that best demonstrate his genius.

Painted over the course of his life, they reveal nothing less than Rembrandt himself, as he was when he was alive. There is often a sadness in these images, perhaps unsurprisingly as Rembrandt suffered many difficulties during his life, including bankruptcy. But he always continued to work prodigiously, mastering all genres of painting including group portraiture, landscape, and religious work. Many of these images were produced as etchings, confirming Rembrandt’s mastery of line drawing as well as conveying the drama of great Biblical events. When he died in 1669, he left behind a stupendous body of work whose qualities have been matched by few other artists of history, if at all.

Featuring the views of leading authorities, art historians and scholars.

Volume 6: Vermeer
Born in 1632, only three dozen canvases survive from his working life. A resident of the Dutch city of Delft, it is Vermeer’s subject matter that is the first point of interest in his work. Unusually, he chose to depict scenes of ordinary, everyday life. His images are calm and precise, almost mathematical in their organization, while his ability to depict the effects of light are also remarkable, though for a long time his skills were almost completely unknown. It would be two hundred years after Vermeer’s death before his status as a Dutch Master began to be fully recognised by posterity.

Featuring the views of leading authorities, art historians and scholars.