Jordi Savall, the internationally-acclaimed Catalan musician, is a pre-eminent exponent of medieval, Renaissance and baroque music interpretation, and is widely credited with the rebirth of the viola da gamba. His schedule of performances is intense, but he still finds time to teach and to continue his musical research. All these aspects of his work are illuminated in this documentary, which includes a rich variety of performance and rehearsal extracts, exemplifying the musical eclecticism of this exceptional practitioner.
Velaquez
In return for immortalising the grotesquely in-bred court of the rapidly declining Spanish Hapsburgs, Philip IV admitted Velazquez (1599-1660) to the ranks of the nobility at a time when artists were considered no better than carpenters. Didier Baussy-Oulianoff’s resplendent portrait focuses on this special relationship between an artist and a king, and benefits from exclusive access to a major Velazquez exhibition mounted at the Prado in Madrid. The artist’s character is revealed through his work.
Titjan
Titian is one of the most celebrated names in art history. This film travels to Venice, Rome, Madrid and Vienna to consider his life, work and legacy. It explores his manoeuvres to become Venice’s offical artist, his greed and ambition, fuelled by polemicist Aretino, his expedient flattery of his illustrious Clients, as well as his sublime use of colour and his supreme skill as an artist, which find full expression in the passionate paintings of his old age.
Henri Matisse
Matisse’s brilliantly coloured work inspired many twentieth-century painters and is a source of infinite enjoyment to all who love art. This film shows the richness of his oeuvre and uses archive footage of the man himself and extracts from his Notes ofa Painter, to explore his legacy. It highlights the influence of his travels to Tangie, Tahiti and New York, looks at his use of decorative patterns and textiles.
The Yellow Gash
Jean-Paul Sartre’s imagination was caught by the Venetian master’s rebellion against Convention: his use of unexpected viewpoints; contrasts of scale; his visionary use of colour, light and shade. Sartre’s analysis of Tintoretto’s work forms the basis of this film study, which also draws on the writings of Vasari, and Ridolfi’s biography of the artist. Shot on location in Venice, the programme captures the full splendour of Tintoretto’s famous paintings and frescoes.