The Private Life of a Masterpiece

The Private Life of a Masterpiece
Genre Art documentary
Narrated by
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 29
Production
Running time 50 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel BBC Two
Original run 2001 – 2010

The Private Life of a Masterpiece was a BBC arts documentary series which told the stories behind great works of art; 29 episodes of the series were broadcast on BBC Two, commencing in 2001 and ending in 2010. It initially ran for five seasons from 2001 to 2006, for a total of 22 episodes; each episode was 50 minutes long. A seven-DVD box set of the first five series was released in 2007, which re-arranged the documentaries into genres from art history. A further seven episodes were broadcast between 2006 and 2010. The series has been widely broadcast around the world, often in re-voiced into national languages. The original narrations were done by the actor Samuel West. Works of art featured range from Michelangelo's David for the first episode to Filippo Lippi's Adoration of the Christ Child for the last.

The series was produced by independent TV production company Fulmar Television & Film, based in Cardiff.[1] The series producer, who also devised the concept of the programme, was Jeremy Bugler.[2]

The series was praised by the TV critic of The Times, David Chater, who listed it at Number 30 in The top 50 TV shows of the Noughties. [3]

Episode guide

Series 1 (2001)
Series 2 (2002)
Series 3 (2004)
Series 4 (2005)
Series 5 (2006)
The Private Life of a Christmas Masterpiece (2006)
The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece (2009)
The Private Life of a Christmas Masterpiece (2009)
The Private Life of an Easter Masterpiece (2010)
The Private Life of a Christmas Masterpiece (2010)

References

  1. "The Private Life of a Masterpiece". fulmartelevion.co.uk.com. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  2. "Jeremy Bugler, Head of Programmes". fulmartelevion.co.uk.com. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  3. Chater, David (12 September 2009). "The top 50 TV shows of the Noughties". The Times. Retrieved 18 January 2011. (Subscription required).

External links