Art

Rothko is known for his abstract expressionism paintings, but he moved through more traditional styles in his early career, including Surrealist paintings in the 1940s. In 1947 he embarked on the first of his large abstract 'colour-field' paintings, formalising their structure further in the 1950s. Rothko had huge success with largescale solo shows, but committed suicide in 1970.

Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of illuminated manuscripts that were custom-made for kings and explores the medieval world they reveal. 'Ruling by the Book.' Janina begins her journey with the first Anglo-Saxon rulers to create a united England, encountering books in the British Library's Royal manuscripts collection which are over a thousand years old and a royal family tree which is five metres long.
Janina finds out about a king who had a reputation for chasing nuns and reads a book created as a wedding gift for a ten-year-old prince. She roams from Westminster Abbey to other ancient English spiritual sites such as Winchester, St Albans and Malmesbury, and sees for herself how animal skins can be transformed into the finest vellum.

Construction of the famous Basilica in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudi, was started in 1882. To this day, it has not been completed. The architecture is one of such creative madness, originality, and fantasy, that it has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. After years of piecing back together Gaudi’s master plan with advancements in computer technology and design, architects have been able to pursue the building, started 140 years ago. However, as construction progresses, some of its greatest challenges have yet to be surmounted, including the construction of 10 more spires. The team hopes to complete the masterpiece by 2026, Gaudi’s 100 year anniversary.
This film documents the complexities of respecting the original inspiration and techniques set forth by Gaudi over a century ago. Juxtaposing sequences shot in the midst of the cathedral as construction ensues, with reenactments and CGI images, the documentary draws you into Gaudi’s paradise on earth, from the origins of its inspiration to the most recent architectural additions.

The story of one misguided art collector's attempts to save a Banksy painting from destruction and the auction block. Featuring some of the world's top street artists, this film poses the question 'What would you do if you owned a million dollar painting that the artist doesn't want sold?'

Scientists and engineers fight to save Notre Dame Cathedral after the 2019 fire. When the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral erupted in flames in April of 2019, firefighters battled for nine gruelling hours to save the historic landmark. Still, Paris came alarmingly close to losing more than 800 years of history. Now engineers are in a different race against time: to rebuild the roof and secure the medieval structure of Notre Dame. Underneath the charred scaffolding and vaulted ceilings of the cathedral, scientists study the components of Notre Dame’s iconic structure to puzzle out how best to repair it.

For a predominately visual medium like cinema, its musical component plays a vital role as well, especially its score. In that essential musical accompaniment, the soul of the film is expressed whether it be sweepingly majestic fanfares or delicate lyrical pieces. This documentary explores the artistic role of this special musical discipline that completes the cinematic artistic creation process and the artists who have devoted their careers to this contribution.
We explore the form's history and examine the masters who defined it with their own distinctive artistic vision. In doing so, the various components of this delicate creative process are revealed as they create a musical compositional work that has inspired a popular appreciation of music in all its forms, which gave some old musical ways their own new lease on life.