5: The Triumph of Art | Civilisations

1: Second Moment of Creation | Civilisations

Simon Schama looks at the formative role art and the creative imagination have played in the forging of humanity itself.

2: How Do We Look? | Civilisations

Mary Beard explores images of the human body in ancient art, from Mexico and Greece to Egypt and China.

3: Picturing Paradise | Civilisations

Simon Schama explores the depiction of nature. Simon discovers that landscape painting is seldom a straightforward description of obser...

4: The Eye of Faith | Civilisations

Professor Mary Beard explores the controversial topic of religion and art. How, and at what cost, do different religions make the unseen ...

6: First Contact | Civilisations

David Olusoga shows how art was always on the frontline when distant cultures met.

7: Radiance | Civilisations

Simon Schama starts his meditation on colour and civilisation with the great Gothic cathedrals of Amiens and Chartres. He then moves to 16th-cent...

8: The Cult of Progress | Civilisations

David Olusoga explores the artistic reaction to imperialism in the 19th century.

9: The Vital Spark | Civilisations

Simon Schama explores the fate of art in the machine- and profit-driven world, looking at the rise of art as a tradeable commodity.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère | Civilisations

David Olusoga explores the controversy of Manet's ''A Bar at the Folies-Bergère'' and its signalling of prostitution.

Anselm Kiefer | Civilisations

Anselm Kiefer discusses why his work is influenced so massively by German history.

Art from concentration camps | Civilisations

Simon Schama views the art that was made by children in concentration camps.

Aztec Double Headed Serpent | Civilisations

David Olusoga investigates the history of the Aztec Double Headed Serpent.

Benin Bronzes | Civilisations

David Olusoga visits the Benin Bronzes at the British Museum.

Cai GuoGiang | Civilisations

Simon Schama investigates Cai GuoGiang's ''fire'' art, where he uses fireworks, stencils and pigments to create form.

El Anatsui | Civilisations

Simon Schama explores El Anatsui's flowing sculptures made from scrap metal like bottle caps and tin cans.

El Greco | Civilisations

David Olusoga shows how art was always on the frontline when distant cultures met.

Impressionism | Civilisations

David Olusoga explores the beginnings of Impressionism and how ground-breaking the movement was at the time.

Islamic Art | Civilisations

Mary Beard explores Islamic artwork and the debates within Islam about the role of artists and images.

Jan Vermeer | Civilisations

David Olusoga explores Jan Vermeer's life and work, a man who barely ever left the small Dutch city of Delft.

Johan Zoffany | Civilisations

David Olusoga explores Johan Zoffany's work, which portrays a rare moment seen in the art of the time, depicting British traders cavorting with...

S3E1: Forces of Nature | A History of Britain by Simon Schama

The French Revolution sent shockwaves through Britain. While some watched transfixed, others were horrified. Si...

Simon Schama: The Road to Auschwitz

In the most personal and unflinching film of his career, historian Simon Schama confronts the Holocaust as not just a Nazi obsession but ...

9: The Vital Spark | Civilisations

Simon Schama explores the fate of art in the machine- and profit-driven world, looking at the rise of art as a tradeable commodity.

2: Among Believers | The Story of the Jews

Simon Schama examines the story of the medieval Jews and their struggle to preserve their identity under the rule of Christianity ...

6: Van Gogh | Simon Schama's Power of Art

Simon Schama investigates what drove Van Gogh to paint Wheat Field with Crows.