Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Painting Paradise

Episode 1 of 3

Andrew Graham-Dixon unravels the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. He traces the beginnings of Christian art in Rome, Egypt and medieval France.

How should art depict the relationship between man and God? How can art best express eternal values? Can you, and should you, portray the face of Christ? For over a thousand years these were some of the questions which taxed the minds of the greatest artists of the early West. In this three-part series, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. Why has this world been so frequently misunderstood and underrated? His journey takes him from the mysterious catacombs of ancient Rome to Coptic Egypt, to the Orthodox Christian world of Istanbul and then onwards to medieval Italy and France.

In the first episode, Andrew Graham-Dixon traces the beginnings of Christian art in the declining Roman Empire, Egypt and medieval France, and reveals the ideas which lay behind the transition from classical art to the first icons.

1 hour

Last on

Fri 19 Mar 2010 00:45

More episodes

Previous

You are at the first episode

See all episodes from Art of Eternity

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Andrew Graham-Dixon
Producer David Berry

Broadcasts