Striking right at the art of the matter
EVER been to The Louvre in Paris to see the Mona Lisa? It can be a thoroughly underwhelming experience. For a start, it’s probably smaller than you expected it to be, it’s behind Perspex to stop vandals in their tracks and you can’t get close to it because there are so many other people desperate to see it.
And yet art lovers the world over continue to make a pilgrimage to see it and other great works. It’s estimated that when Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring was exhibited in Tokyo as part of a Dutch Old Masters show, it attracted more than 10,000 people a day.
But with so many people milling around, perhaps those who parted with their hard-earned cash for the privilege might have been better off staying at home and tuning into a TV show like Great Art.
Some galleries have already tapped into this idea by offering high-quality downloadable tours of popular exhibitions via the Exhibition on Screen site; the series also uses this footage.
But there are other methods of seeing amazing works at home, including via this series, hosted by Tim Marlow, the artistic director of the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
“I am delighted to be introducing this series of excellent films,” says the art historian. “The appetite for the arts in this country goes from strength to strength.”
Some may raise an eyebrow at the thought of such a show appearing on “the third channel”; it has struggled to find a suitable cultural replacement for The South Bank Show in recent years, but perhaps this programme will go some way to filling the gap it left behind.
So far, it’s proved to be pretty impressive, and has managed to give viewers a chance to get up close and personal with amazing works thanks to the wonders of HD TV, without ever having to leave the comfort of their own homes.
The run began with a look at Canaletto, whose paintings of Venice are arguably more popular now than they were in his 18th-century heyday. This week, it’s the turn of Michelangelo to take centre stage. The great Renaissance painter, sculptor and architect remains an inspirational figure more than 500 years after his death, and during this appraisal of his life and work, it’s easy to see why.
“Shot through with passion and expertise in equal measure, these films tell compelling stories which enrich our understanding of those artists and the art which have most profoundly influenced our cultural heritage,” says Jo Clinton-Davis, ITV’s controller of factual.
After this edition, only two more remain – one is set to focus on Rembrandt, the other on the aforementioned Vermeer - but here’s hoping it won’t be long before Marlow is offering us more intimate views of masters old and new.