Episode 9: Simon Schama
Simon Schama talks to Viv Jones about the making of Civilisations. They discuss the highs and lows of filming such an ambitious global series, from being granted rare access to breathtaking cave paint...
26 Apr 201827min
Episode 8: Matika Wilbur, Chip Colwell and Ernest House Jr.
In the 8th programme in the Civilisations TV series, David Olusoga looks at how artists reacted to the colonialism of the 19th century. He travels to America to see art by both white and Native Americ...
19 Apr 201833min
Episode 7: Colourful Stories
Unusual stories of the bizarre and gruesome things that have been used as paint pigments from Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour. Plus, why did Van Gogh create portraits of the man ...
12 Apr 201823min
Episode 6: How Civilisations Collapse and Understanding the Aztecs
Contrary to myth and misconception, the Aztecs were not a bloodthirsty, inhumane, deeply patriarchal and authoritarian society. Viv Jones is disabused of everything she thought she knew about this sop...
5 Apr 201832min
Episode 5: Caravaggio
Viv Jones delves into the BBC archives to find out how Caravaggio’s tempestuous life - of brawls, duels, and prison escapes - is reflected in his provocative paintings. Featuring archive interviews wi...
29 Mar 201820min
Episode 4: Mary Beard, and Brian Dillon on Ruin Lust
Mary Beard reveals the thinking behind The Eye of Faith, the fourth programme in the Civilisations series. Depicting the divine in art has been a fascination for Mary since she studied for her PhD on ...
22 Mar 201824min
Episode 3: Ansel Adams and Escapist Prison Landscapes
Stories of two American photographers. A few years ago, Alyse Emdur found a Polaroid of her family posed in front of a painted beach scene in the visiting room of the prison where her brother was an i...
15 Mar 201824min
