Great Art Explained

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

A portrait of celebrated filmmaker David Chase: his life, his career and his groundbreaking work on the HBO original series The Sopranos.

The Joy of Painting was an American television show hosted by painter Bob Ross that taught its viewers techniques for landscape oil painting. Although Ross could complete a painting in half an hour, the intent of the show was not to teach viewers "speed painting". Rather, he intended for viewers to learn certain techniques within the time that the show was allotted. The show began on January 11, 1983, and lasted until May 17, 1994, a year before Ross' death.

Explore the surprising things we know (and don’t know) about why people are the way they are through expert interviews, rare footage from historical experiments, and brand-new, ground-breaking demonstrations of human nature at work.

Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

Revisit the epic heroes, villains and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the stories still to come. Each dynamic segment feeds directly into the upcoming series — setting the stage for future events. This series weaves together the many threads that constitute the unparalleled Marvel Cinematic Universe.

After he's shot in 1968, Andy Warhol begins documenting his life and feelings. Those diaries, and this series, reveal the secrets behind his persona.

Investigates a wide range of historically compelling topics and the mysteries surrounding each including the Titanic, D.B. Cooper, Roswell, John Wilkes Booth, and more. Fresh, new evidence and perspectives will be showcased, such as never-before-released documents, personal diaries and DNA evidence.

The documentary takes viewers through Janet Jackson's life and career, contain never-before-seen footage, and feature home videos from the legendary artist. Jackson discusses her controversial 2004 Super Bowl halftime show performance with Justin Timberlake, her father Joe Jackson, the death of her brother Michael Jackson, and more.

Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.

Explore Marvel’s rich legacy of pioneering characters, creators and storytelling to reflect the world outside your window. Each documentary, helmed by a unique filmmaker, showcases the intersections of storytelling, pop culture, and fandom within the Marvel Universe.

The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.

Porn has gone mainstream; the question is, can we handle it? This exploration of the intersection of sex and technology is told through the stories of the people whose lives are defined by the current explosion of internet porn-whether they're creating it, consuming it, or both.

Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendours of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

A series of standalone documentaries powered by the unparalleled journalism and insight of The New York Times, bringing viewers close to the essential stories of our time.

This docuseries takes an unprecedented look at the enduring and influential legacy of DC, allowing fans to rediscover the universe of characters, as well as the iconic comic book company’s origins, its evolution and its nearly nine-decade cultural impact across every artistic medium.

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

This immersive series follows the world's most magnificent creatures, capturing never-before-seen moments from the heartwarming to the outrageous.

A kaleidoscopic portrait told in two parts tracing the life of the imaginative artist.

An inside look at the professional and personal life of Andrey Batt. A peek inside the exploits and privileged adventures of the artist himself and his friends. Batt welcomes viewers into his unfiltered world of fame, relationships, sport and art.

Dr Adam Rutherford investigates the close relationship between discoveries in anatomy and the works of art that illustrate them.

Unframed immerses viewers in Lebanon's creative pulse, following independent artists as they navigate their craft, inspirations, and challenges—offering an intimate and unfiltered look at the role of art in a country undergoing constant change.

A 3-chapter documentary about the stories we tell ourselves around creativity. Using a plethora of studies from anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, the film tries to demystify the way we use our brains to create, to make art and science. The products of our minds are extraordinary, but the process in which they are brought about are in fact, quite ordinary. Shakespeare copied. Mozart copied. Picasso copied too. But we're still obsessed with originality. We're living in the most creative time in humanity's existence, so maybe it's time to rethink our preconceptions about creativity.

Through the beauty of artistic forms, Ramon Gener goes inside the inner workings of human nature. All artists use art to explain their emotions.

Andrew Graham-Dixon embarks on his most ambitious journey yet, an exploration of the rich, exciting and diverse art history of the United States of America

Andrew Graham-Dixon undertakes an epic journey to uncover the art of China.

A series of 6 Arts Documentaries, fronted by supermodel, actress and Cambridge Arts graduate, Lily Cole. Lily gets unprecedented access to some of today's most revered and successful contemporary artists. In the name of Art; she navigates the desert with 'wrap' artist Christo, learns the art of boomerang throwing with Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco, models for a nude portrait for Contemporary artist Fiona Banner, has a drawing lesson with the sculptor, Antony Gormley, touches down in Monaco for Marc Quinn's latest exhibition and paints pictures with the doyenne of celluloid film, Tacita Dean. These intimate portraits of artists at home and at play show a side to them rarely seen before. Largely observational documentary in style, there are also contributions from high profile curators, collectors and art commentators; from Ralf Rugoff, Director of the Hayward Gallery to Germaine Geer and, champion of public art, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Rebellious, provocative and unapologetic. The Young British Artists crashed the 90s art scene, making Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst and others household names. This is their story.

Covering the ancient world through the age of technology, this illustrated lecture by Eugen Weber presents a tapestry of political and social events woven with many strands — religion, industry, agriculture, demography, government, economics, and art. A visual feast of over 2,700 images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art portrays key events that shaped the development of Western thought, culture, and tradition.

« For over twenty years we have filmed at night in the most important museums in the world. It's the only possible time to film the empty halls or the precious artifacts out of the windows because there are no visitors. But at night the Museum changes face. Just you in front of the masterpieces in the silence. The Museum seems to show and offer you its treasures in an atmosphere of intimacy. I always wanted to transmit and give this atmosphere that I breathed to viewers. » (Alberto Angela)

Danny Baker, Simon Callow, Richard E Grant, Cerys Matthews, Miriam Margolyes and Michael Sheen follow in the footsteps of their favourite British artists.

An educational French TV documentary series which goes into depth during each episode into the analysis of a single painting.

Art writer Waldemar Januszczak explores the revolutionary achievements of the Impressionists.

First broadcast on October 2, 1989, these 18 original 30-minute episodes provide a panorama of 2000 years of architecture, painting and sculpture, and studies the art masterpieces as reflections of the Western culture that produced them.

How does the art we consume reflect the times we live in? A topical look at the latest film, TV, music, books and theatre - through the eyes of their creators and their audiences.

Hervé Tullet, an artist of playful and uninhibited creations, invites young and old to unleash their creativity. He offers a series of creation, recreation and inspiration workshops, so that anyone can put together their own Ideal Exhibition.

Karl Lagerfeld was an enigmatic figure who spent his life reinventing himself. He ruled the fashion world for decades, making history with his achievements at Chanel, Fendi and his own brand. An extraordinary personality, a fashion Stakhanovite, a tireless worker who created day and night until his last breath. A flamboyant man too, in his appearance and in his words, known for his outbursts mixing perfidy, provocation and self-deprecation. He was also an illusionist, a provocateur, a controversial icon, who used the truth - particularly about his past - to embellish his legend. But where does this determination come from? What were his inspirations and motivations? And behind his enigmatic façade - with his tight suit, ponytail and dark glasses - who really was Karl Lagerfeld?