TELEVISION

30 Masterpieces of the Ancient World

Series: Great Courses
4.3
(56)
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Episodes
36
Rating
TVPG
Year
2013
Language
English
Publisher
The Great Courses

About

Thousands of years before Picasso or Gauguin put brush to canvas, artists all over the world were creating works of stunning opulence, realism, and drama-always with a clear purpose. Ancient art history expert Diana Krumholz McDonald whisks you around the globe in search of the greatest art ever created and to deliver insight into the fascinating cultures that produced them.

Related Subjects

Episodes

1 to 3 of 36

1. Where Do We Come From?

30m

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What are the common themes of ancient art? Why is ancient art relevant today? What makes a masterpiece? Before you begin your journey through the world of ancient art, consider why ancient art matters, what it tells us about different cultures, and its impact on and similarity to our world today.

2. Ancient Cave Art-Chauvet, France

30m

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Step back more than 30,000 years as you view some of the earliest known art in the world- a fabulous gallery of animals painted on the cave walls at Chauvet. These paintings tell us something profound about the Paleolithic mind and force us to reconsider our own ideas about "primitive" art.

3. The Uruk Vase-Vision of an Ordered World

30m

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In Mesopotamia, writing was developed 5,000 years ago, alongside the first narrative art, which set the stage for everything that followed in the Western art historical tradition. The registers on the Uruk Vase tell the story of civilization and reveal a hierarchical world as seen by one of the most complex societies of the era.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish