Brushstrokes: Every Picture Tells a Story

Season 1

Acclaimed British art critic and television presenter Waldemar Januszczak investigates the stories behind four internationally famous works of art from Gaugin, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Dobson. Each episode focuses on one painting. Waldemar takes us deep into the world of the artist who created it, including popular influences, events in the artist's life, and any hidden meanings within the works.

20134 episodesX-Ray7+

Documentary•Special Interest

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S1 E1 - The Vision After the Sermon by Paul Gauguin
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March 30, 2020
26min
ALL
Waldemar examines the symbolism and haunting mystery of Gaugin's masterpiece. It amounts to a religious epic about good and evil, temptation and desire.
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S1 E2 - Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Vincent Van Gogh
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May 10, 2013
25min
7+
Waldemar draws out the untold stories hidden in Van Gogh's Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear. It is a tale of geishas, brothels, bullfights, love affairs, suffering and a fiery relationship with Gauguin. Investigation of this famous work, emblematic of his time in the south of France, reveals the extent of the artist's personal demons and the profound effect this had on his work.
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S1 E3 - The Card Players by Paul Cezanne
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May 17, 2013
26min
7+
In this painting, Waldemar explores both Cezanne's Provencal roots and his deep religious fervor. He attempts to lay out the thematic and graphic ingredients that make this picture so powerful and intense.
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S1 E4 - Portrait of an Old and a Younger Man by William Dobson
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May 24, 2013
25min
7+
At 2015 miles long, the Thames is England's greatest river. While many artists have highlighted it within their work, William Dobson hid it subtly in his famous Portrait of an Old and a Younger Man some 400 years ago. Why?
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