Private Life of a Masterpiece is a BBC arts documentary series that tells the stories behind great works of art reaching from the Renaissance to modern art. David by Michelangelo, The Scream by Edvard Munch, The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya, The Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn, Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso, The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck, ... The Art of Painting by Johannes Vermeer. For behind the beautiful canvases and sculptures are tales of political revolution, wartime escapes, massive ego clashes, social scandal, financial wrangling and shocking violence. The series reveals the full and fascinating stories behind famous works of art, not just how they came to be created, but also how they influenced others and came to have a life of their own in the modern world.
Edvard munch: the scream
Michelangelo: david
Édouard manet: le déjeuner sur l'herbe
Diego velázquez: the rokeby venus
Auguste rodin: the kiss
Francisco goya: the third of may 1808
Auguste renoir: dance at the moulin de la galette
Rembrandt van rijn: the night watch
Sandro botticelli: la primavera
Katsushika hokusai: the great wave
Edgar degas: the little dancer
Vincent van gogh: the sunflowers
Pablo picasso: les demoiselles d'avignon
James mcneill whistler: portrait of the painter's mother
Eugene delacroix: liberty leading the people
Johannes vermeer: the art of painting
Paolo uccello: the battle of san romano
Georges seurat: a sunday on la grande jatte
Gustav klimt: the kiss
Leonardo da vinci: the last supper
Salvador dalí: christ of saint john of the cross
Piero della francesca: the resurrection
Jan van eyck: the annunciation
Pieter bruegel the elder: census at bethlehem
Paul gauguin: god's child
Caravaggio: the taking of christ
Sandro botticelli: the mystic nativity
Rogier van der weyden: the descent from the cross
Filippo lippi: the adoration of the christ child
NextFilm 2025