Customer Reviews

Simon Schama's Power of Art

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Everyone interested in Western art will WANT to own this disc...we are confronted with the art works that make our brains spin and our hearts leap out. Simon Schama begins his discussion with Caravaggio's "David and Goliath." Rather than depict the artist as the heroic figure, Caravaggio astounds us by portraying himself as the severed head of the monster, the enemy. The film technique used by the director is to explore the biography of the artist, earlier works that lead up to this one, and the cultural moment to understand WHY the artist sees himself in this light.

In the next disc, one of the artists examined is William Turner. I had always associated Turner with wonderful use of light, color, and the birth of English impressionism. But Simon Schama shows us the dark side of
Turner...artworks like a limp Death riding a Pale Horse. The key artwork we are to contemplate is a painting of a slave ship...a deeply disturbing work of an infamous scandal in British history where slaves were thrown overboard alive into the churning shark filled sea. What Schama explains is that Turner's mother had gone insane after losing her daughter and been transformed into a screaming hysteric. Only after this film did I start to notice screaming heads in Turner's sunsets, vapors, and white clouds. Without the historical reconstruction, I would never have understood this side of the painter's work.

In the last disc, we confront Picasso and his greatest (political) masterpiece, "Guernica." We are taken on a tour of Picasso's interior life and witness his change: He grows from seeking liberation for creative art into seeking liberation of all people from aggressive power and fascism.

In summary, after having my "mind blown" by Schama's penetrating analysis of one work of art, I couldn't wait to see the next episode. Because the discussions, reconstructions, and art masterpieces themselves are very graphic, even disturbing, wait until your children are ready to show them this series...indeed, that is the point - the Power of Art - to move us.

I was fortunate to be able to see the BBC (Region 2) version of this series and I found it very compelling and interesting. Simon does a very persuasive job of explaining how and why (he feels) these greats (Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso) standout in the annuals of art. A very easily accessible series for even the most uninitiated in the subject; highly recommended by this art novice. I only wish there were more episodes in the series!

I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Schama in a recent presentation of this documentary. I first became famliar to his work through his book "The Power of Art." His documentary is an excellent companion to a really great book. When the documentary began to be shown on PBS, I knew I had to have a copy (eventually,I bought two copies).

The most important aspect of this documentary, in my opinion, is connected to the fact that Simon Schama is not all too concerned with styles or techniques but with historical context and its impact in the work of each artist he selected. Each work is presented as a reaction to the events of the time. Simon Schama also goes deep into the lives of each artist and provides us with a better understanding of their motivations and personal relationships. These artists become very human and for that reason very much like us. The combination of these factors result in the creation of amazing works of art that are a universal manifestations of human nature and emotion. It is because the message of each piece is so human, so universal, that the art becomes memorable. It is for this reason that these masterpieces continue to talk to us beyond the limitations of time. This is the real power of art!

As an art history teacher, I truly enjoyed Simon Schama's approach to art history. I tend to teach in very similar lines. For those who are not necessarily interested in art (find that hard to believe) this documentary would provide a great deal of information tnat is exciting and entertaining.

No doubt many are wondering: what was that haunting counter-tenor aria floating through the David episode: Vivaldi's Nisi Dominus in G Minor, RV 608: IV. In fact, there are a number of exceptional musical works that make up the soundtrack of this series, and that you should have to wonder what they are without mention of them in the credits is annoying. Mr. Schama's and his producer's failure to list music credits for each of the shows in the Power of Art, brilliant though the series was, was a grotesque oversight and they ought to be read the riot act. How such smart people could make so egregious and stupid an error as overlooking the power of the music they obviously spent so much time and attention selecting is beyond me. Quite infuriating! Details like these matter. After all, Mr. Schama has made a career looking at the details. He should know better.

Schama's latest foray into the world of on-screen documentary is also his latest smash hit. Although fundamentally different than his earlier documentary ("The History of Britain"), this latest of his entries into the genre is another solid performer, destined to find its way onto the list of "best documentaries ever made."

For this series, Schama has specially selected eight key artists to make his underlying point that art is indeed powerful, and all one need do is examine some of these personages and their key works to be convinced of just that point. Schama easily makes his case, but takes us on a riveting eight-hour journey from Caravaggio to Rothko in doing so. Our trip leads us to meet each of the artists (Caravaggio, Bernini, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Rothko), peer into the oftentimes emotion-charged lives in which they practiced their art, and survey of some of the major accomplishments of each, all flouted across the screen in high-resolution digital beauty. And yet, this is not really Schama's point at all: the point which he wants us to understand, to believe, to accept, to embrace, is that art can be powerful, often IS powerful, and that these eight people served as spectacular conduits of that power into their created works.

And so, for each of our eight personal witnesses called to the stand to defend Schama's thesis, we hear an often tormented roar of testimony, each of them having a unique story to tell in how art was powerful to them, and how that power impacted their and succeeding generations. Sometimes the power is, in Schama's words, a "lie" (for example, "Death of Marat" by David), and sometimes it is the power of guilt and redemption (Caravaggio's "David with the head of Goliath"). Sometimes it is an open doorway to another dimension (Rothko's works), and sometimes, the power of reminding us who we are (Rembrandt's "The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis"). We don't have to know about these paintings beforehand to learn Schama's lesson: as we work through each episode, we learn more than enough to understand these works, and why they were created. As such, the series serves as an outstanding lesson on the history of western art. But we should never be misled as to Schama's true purpose. He wants us to see the medium of art as a source of power, sometimes tapped, sometime not, sometimes legitimate, sometimes not. But powerful nonetheless.

The DVD set closely follows the printed text, which was released almost two years ago. I would recommend that one purchase and work through both formats to receive the maximum insight and experience of the endeavor. The book and the documentary make use of slightly different approaches to achieve the same goal, and watching the DVD first or reading the book first will in no way spoil the pleasure and meaning of the other. Both the DVD and the book are of first-rate quality, and it is easy to recommend both. Don't miss out on this latest of the Schama saga, and after watching, join the crowd of those that hope for more to come.

I am a serious photographer, who is trying to find his way through the hassle of the modern world. What makes you to shoot a really "good" photograph? That's the search for every individual, who is in the need of expressing himself/herself in an artistic form. Is it equipment? Well! May be. But surely not exactly. So, I decided to dig deeper and try to understand how visual art was created in the good old ages when people were not technologically strongly supported to create an image as they are now. And during my research, I came across with this set of DVDs. Each episode is concentared on one masterpiece that the artist created. In the creation phase of the masterpiece, additional background information about the social happenings, the personality of the artist, the important steps in the artist's life on the way to the creation of the masterpiece are mentioned. It's very very useful for art enthusiasts to create awareness abour certain concepts, trends and styles. But surely an entry tool to warm you up to go further. In the endless sea of art, 8 artists are really not too much. But these 8 artists are selected to cover a significant poriton of the understanding of art history. When you watch the DVDs, I believe you would wish to know at least this much information about the other masters of art and their famous work. You will surely feel yourself richer and your approach to look at a visual art subjects or sculpture will surely change.

Schama does a wonderful job in bringing new light (and in some cases new controversy with his idiosyncratic readings) to eight artists and their work. One does wonder about how the selection of the artists was made: all are white and male, seven of the eight are painters. He opens each episode with a bit of a 'tease'--calling attention to one more or less 'culminating' work of art for the artist, and then uses the episode itself to backtrace all of the threads that came together to create a rather compelling suspense.

They are, perhaps, a bit overproduced. Lots of film-school style quick intercutting of random scenes (if you see one more sunny field in Van Gogh or sweaty actor with rapier in Caravaggio, you're liable to scream) that are repeated and repeated and repeated and repeated--beyond the point of leitmotif and into the point of 'couldn't you have cut the episode down a bit?' There's also some grotesquerie in just about every one and no warning at all. I think it's funny that an episode of _Family Guy_ has a 'viewer discretion is advised;' while a graphic bullfight (not a recreation, not an artistic re-enactment) is not even warned of, but is so graphic it nearly eclipses the point it's trying to make. Something to think about if you are planning on buying this to educate the kiddies.

Others have commented on Schama's occasionally execrable puns--some think he's trying to pander to his audience. I think he just thinks he's being clever. If you like him, they come off as 'groaning at your uncle's horrible jokes' if you don't like him, they probably strike you as noxious. That's personal taste, so it's for you to decide your threshold of urbane wittiness.

All in all worth a look. He manages to bring art and artists to life in a way that many art history textbooks fail to do. It's more than a matter of his approach of personal biography for each artist: it's the way he pieces the story together around and through the artist's production so that it makes a coherent narrative that is captivating. And he addresses at several points a question perhaps not lost in the modern audience: is art relevant? By seeing the artists as humans, we see new levels of their humanity, and new ways that their works can make meaning for us.

Can a series on art make you stay up all night to frantically watch all dvd's in the box? Yes it can. Move over 'Lost' and '24', here comes Simon Schama. Through the lives and works of 8 of the worlds most famous artists (Caravaggio to Rothko), Simon Schama shows how intoxicating art can be. Each episode is (were it a book) a page turner. Don't think it's 'only' about art. It's about life. Schama is the perfect story teller and makes you ask for just one more before you have to turn out the light. For the first time since Sister Wendy Sister Wendy Sister Wendy - The Complete Collection (Story of Painting / Grand Tour / Odyssey / Pains of Glass) do we have a new champion that undertands what art is all about. Higlights: the sad but gripping story of carravaggio; Bernini's hands, clawing persephone's thigh; Schama's dwelling on David's The Death of Marat. Buy it, see it. Everyone.

I came to this series because some Rembrandt paintings are comming soon to my city and I wanted to know more of the man before I saw them. I put his name in on YOU TUBE and this series came up. It really made me understand how these painters works evolved and the effects their lives had on making their art what it is. Not every episode uses actors to portray the painters but in those that do Esp. Van Gogh, Caravaggio & Rothko the actors give tour deforce performances. Masterpiece theatre caliber that is RARE indeed for a documentry. I gave most of two days to the episodes and came away with far more than I might have expected. I look forward to owning the DVD's. Mr. Schama's another MASTER of the Documentry of whom England has given so many.

The study of art constitutes both a visual and intellectual experience. Bravo Simon Schama for fleshing out the discourse to include the visceral experience. That's exactly what his well wrought, delightfully punchy presentations aim for: the solar plexus. In each of his eight hour-long programs, Schama focuses on a single work by a single arist. And by dong so he conveys a sense of what that artist's world was all about and where he fits in to the broader scope of art history. But the way he does it is the thing. While the main plot of each presentation remains the artwork itself, Schama wrings out a driving narrative by including as a subplot elements of personal drama in the artist's life. For Caravaggio it is his flagrant Bohemian temperament; for Bellini it is a tortured love affair and his artistic rivalry with Borromini; for Rothko it is the internal conversations of a man whose zen-like spirituality collides with the external world and ultimately leads to his suicide. Schama probes the moment of creation that gave rise to each masterpiece in question. He seeks to shake you by the lapels, but with the artwork always as the central focus. These are unlike any art lectures you have ever seen before. Some may find them a bit over the top. But one thing is clear: you come away with a vivid understanding of history's great painters that you are not likely to forget.