Rolf on Art

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Rolf on Art
Image:Tv rolfonart.jpg
Rolf imitating Cezanne's style in series three
Genre Art
Starring Rolf Harris
Language(s) English
No. of series 5
No. of episodes 28
Production
Running time 30 min. per episode
Broadcast
Original channel BBC
Original run 2001
Links
Official website
IMDb profile

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.


Contents

[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] Episodes

[edit] Series One - The Impressionists

 Rolf's self portrait in Van Gogh's style
Rolf's self portrait in Van Gogh's style

In the first series, Rolf looked at the Impressionists, a group with which he has a great affinity for:

  1. Claude Monet
  2. Edgar Degas
  3. Vincent Van Gogh
  4. Paul Gauguin

[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.

  1. Henri Rousseau - the French painter of 2D Jungle scenes.
  2. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - the French painter of the Moulin Rouge.
  3. Gustav Klimt - the artist who worked in gold leaf.
  4. Auguste Rodin - the famous sculptor

[edit] Series Three - 20th Century Masters

Rolf's picture in Toulouse-Lautrec's style
Rolf's picture in Toulouse-Lautrec's style
  1. L.S. Lowry - the British painter famous for his stick men style.
  2. Salvador Dalí - the most famous Surrealist.
  3. Pablo Picasso - the famous Cubist.
  4. Paul Cézanne
  5. Marc Chagall - the painter of love scenes.
  6. Andy Warhol - the famous Pop artist.

[edit] Series Four - Old Masters

  1. The Big Event ~ John Constable
  2. Rembrandt van Rijn
  3. Sandro Botticelli
  4. J.M.W. Turner
  5. 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 different 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

  1. The Big Event ~ Leonardo Da Vinci
  2. Thomas Gainsborough
  3. Vermeer
  4. Goya
  5. 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] Rolf on Lowry

A one off special, aired on 4 March 2007, where Rolf looked followed in the footsteps of the painter L.S. Lowry. This is different to the season three episode on Lowry.

[edit] The Book

 Rolf's book
Rolf's 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.

[edit] External links