Bbc Private Life of a Masterpiece

In the series we will explore some of the world's most well known works of art through 'The Private Life of a Masterpiece', that introduces viewers to the extraordinary stories contained in the history of art.

In the series we will explore some of the world's most well known works of art through The Private Life of a Masterpiece, that introduces viewers to the extraordinary stories contained in the history of art. Episodes reveal the full and fascinating stories behind famous works, 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.

This award-winning series, Private Life of a Masterpiece, 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. The works of art featured here are both instantly familiar and profoundly mysterious.

Painted over five centuries ago, Filippo Lippi's nativity is like no other: the birth of Christ in a dark, wooded wilderness. Its beauty inspired Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli. But it also conceals a deeply personal story. It was painted for Cosimo de' Medici, a wealthy banker who feared that his money was dragging him straight to hell. The artist's life was equally surprising.

Salvador Dali's strange crucifixion is often called the greatest religious painting of the 20th century. Yet its artist was a notorious blasphemer some of whose work had outraged the Catholic Church. The Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali is the first of two extraordinary crucifixions painted by Dali in the early 1950s. The painting is based on a 'cosmic dream' Dali is said to have had, in which the nucleus of the atom was a figure of Christ himself.

The story of probably the most renowned painting in the world. A work three years in the making, Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper remains one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. Even over 500 years after the painting was completed, this piece remains one of the most studied paintings in history.

Private Life of a Masterpiece is a BBC award-winning arts documentary series that tells the stories behind great works of art reaching from the Renaissance to modern art.

This award-winning series reveals the full and fascinating stories behind famous works of art, not just how they were created, but also how they influenced others and came to have a life of their own in the modern world.