Introduction

The basis for the course is the BBC production of "The Private Life of a Masterpiece." We'll view 15 episodes from the DVD set that was produced from the initial 22 episodes of the series that ran from 2001-2005 on BBC2.

Each episode tells the story of an individual work of art, mostly paintings but there's one fresco and one sculpture.  The link between art and history is often obvious as in the first program we'll see which features Paolo Uccello's "The Battle of San Romano", a depiction of a real event occurring in 15th century Italy when forces from two city states met on the battlefield.

Other episodes depict important events or indirectly reference political struggles but all of them are a snapshot of the artist's time, societal influences on the artist and the subsequent influence of his art on succeeding generations.   History isn't just a chronology of battles, kings, queens, churches and governments.  History is the story of people, their interests, desires and expressions.

Through works of art that have been considered to be masterpieces we can explore the past and tour the world, at least the Western world as all but one of the masterpieces was produced in the West.  You can enjoy the programs as art history, as the history of an artist, or use them as a window into the past that can stimulate your interest in the period and lead you to books and films that will expand the historical snapshot into at least a mosaic.