The Bottom Line
Simon Schama's Power of Art is compelling and informative, entertaining and surprising. It'll leave you sated with the wonder of painting yet, as with anything delectable, wishing there were more to be had. You'll rush from watching it to your easel!
Pros
- Brings the lives and work of the artists alive in a compelling, and easy-to-understand style.
- Period reconstructions help transport you back to the time of each painter (and one sculptor).
- Provides visuals for the cultural context of each artist, far more than a book can.
- Gives you insight into the conditions in which the artist worked, found inspiration, and commissions
- It's almost as good as having a conversation with the artist about his technique.
Cons
- You'll wish there were more episodes in the series!
- Not all the information in the accompanying book is on the DVD
Description
- Boxed DVD set with three disks. Total feature length approximately 460 minutes.
- Eight episodes, each dealing with one artist: Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Rothko.
- Special features include audio commentaries by Simon Schama and series producer Clare Beavan, plus an interview with Schama.
- Age restriction: 12 years and older.
- Actors in the reconstructions include Andy Serkis as Van Gogh, Paul Popplewell as Caravaggio, Alan Corduner as Rothko.
- Written and presented by Simon Schama, an arts critic and writer, and art history professor.
Guide Review - Art DVD Review: Simon Schama's Power of Art
"This is not a saunter through the gallery on a drowsy Sunday afternoon, a Grand Tour of Beauty through the ages. Instead, it is a descent into the volcano of the creating imagination, into the fires where some of the greatest things humans have ever wrought were fashioned." That's Simon Schama's description of his Power of Art series, and you do indeed need to ready yourself for a fiery time that will fill your visual and auditory senses.
Each episode features one painter and his work, starting with Caravaggio and ending with Rothko, via Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, and Picasso (plus one on the sculptor Bernini). Schama's tale is fresh and compelling, so that even if you know quite a lot about an artist you'll come away with something new.
Schama is not afraid to express an opinion, to toss out sacred cows, and to share his passionate appreciation. In a world where every daub by Picasso is generally regarded as great art, it's striking to hear an art historian say he believes Picasso never achieved anything great again after Guernica.
The episodes don't follow a formulaic format. Even though each has the same elements (historical reconstruction, on-site narration by Schama, close-ups of artworks, and a deconstruction of why the art works) they're all structured differently, so the impact of each is fresh.
This is art storytelling at its finest: compelling and informative, easy-to-understand but never patronizing, entertaining but not dumbed down. Watch it whether you're a painter who enjoys delving into the lives of the masters and their creative drive, or a painter who thinks you ought to learn something about famous painters and their motivations but has been put off by formal art history.
You'll come away with new insight into the creative process, which you'll be able to apply to your own work and ambitions.
