Rolf on Art
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Rolf on Art is a successful British television series made by the BBC. It was hosted by Rolf Harris, the famous Australian television presenter. The series was started in 2001, and has consistently run from then on. It has been more successful that Rolf's other art programme Star Portraits with Rolf Harris, which was released after the success of 'Rolf on Art'. It is the most popular British art programme.
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[edit] Rolf's Style
Unlike many other art presenters, Rolf doesn't just look and talk about an artists work, he creates works in their own style. This is a key part of the shows' success. For each episode, he usually does two pictures in their style, usually in the same place where they would do their works. Some episodes were big events, which were held in a big public place, such as in Trafalgar Square in London. Rolf presented these but many (celebrities and the public) helped to paint.
[edit] Series One - The Impressionists
In the first series, Rolf looked at the Impressionists, a group with which he has a great affinity for:
[edit] Series Two - The Post-Impressionists
In the second series, he looked at several artists who worked around and after the time of the Impressionists, but were not Impressionists.
- Henri Rousseau - the French painter of 2D Jungle scenes.
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - the French painter of the Moulin Rouge.
- Gustav Klimt - the artist who worked in gold leaf.
- August Rodin - the famous sculptor
[edit] Series Three - 20th Century Masters
- L.S. Lowry - the British painter famous for his stick men style.
- Salvador Dalí - the most famous Surrealist.
- Pablo Picasso - the famous Cubist.
- Paul Cézanne
- Marc Chagall - the painter of love scenes.
- Andy Warhol - the famous Pop artist.
[edit] Series Four - Old Masters
- The Big Event ~ John Constable
- Rembrandt van Rijn
- Sandro Botticelli
- J.M.W. Turner
- Bruegal
[edit] The Christmas Special
In this special, Rolf looked at Christmas card making.
[edit] The Africa Special
Rolf goes on a tour of Africa, looking at differant styles on African art, including rock art, Makonde wood carving and Benin bronzes. It was released to coincide with the Live 8 festival and the series of programs about Africa.
[edit] Series Five - Old Masters
- The Big Event ~ Leonardo Da Vinci
- Thomas Gainsborough
- Vermeer
- Goya
- The Big Event ~ Hans Holbein
[edit] The Queen, by Rolf
In this special, aired in late 2005, Rolf Harris painted the Queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth II. It was highly publicised due to the fact that the Queen was never seen on such a program before. In it, Rolf goes to Buckingham Palace where he meets the Queen and paints her in an impressionist style. It can be debated as to whether this was a part of the 'Rolf on Art' series, because it does not contain the title sequence or 'Rolf on Art' in the title. However it was advertised as a 'Rolf on Art' special.
[edit] The Book
A Rolf on Art book was released for the first series. It contained sections on how he worked, as well as a section on each of the artists he looked at in the series. It was released again in an updated version for the second series.
