TELEVISION

Civilizations - Season 1

Series: Civilizations

4.7

(54)

Episodes

Rating

NRC

Year

2018

Language

English

Publisher

PBS

About

Survey the history of art, from antiquity to the present, on a global scale. This nine-part series reveals the role art and creative imagination have played in forging humanity, and introduces viewers to works of beauty, ingenuity, and illumination across cultures. Principal contributors Simon Schama, Mary Beard, and David Olusoga travel across the globe, visiting such cultural landmarks as the great mosques of Istanbul, the ancient cities of Mesoamerica, the Buddhist caves of Ajanta in India, the Aztecs' Templo Mayor in modern Mexico City, the funeral site of China's first emperor and many more. Narrated by Liev Schreiber.

Related Subjects

History

Episodes

1. The Second Moment of Creation

53m

Examine the formative role of art and the creative imagination in the forging of humanity itself. Images and artifacts found in Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and South America testify to the urge to develop civilizations.

2. How Do We Look?

53m

Explore the many functions of the human image in art. Portraits, paintings and sculptures, life-size and colossal, perform a role - assuaging loss, expressing strength, inspiring fear - and were instrumental in depicting the body today.

3. God and Art

53m

Trace the relationship between religion and art, which has inspired some of the most ingenious, affecting, and breathtaking works of art ever made. Yet beneath great works of religious art often lie conflict, intrigue and divine mysteries.